The Art of Loyalty
by LuccaNova
Summary: This is my version of S4. It will mostly be about Ved and Cloe, but also Ebony, Slade and Jay, as well as two long lost Mallrats, which I won't reveal who is now - you will just have to wait and see. I apologize in advance for any misspelling or incorrect grammar, as english is only my second language. Please feel free to comment along the way. Hope you enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

1

Jay felt giddy as he watched the ground many miles underneath him and quickly stepped back. He closed his eyes and felt how his heart was throbbing in his chest and the wind thundering against his ears. Taking tiny steps Jay neared the open airplane door and peeked out again. He could instantly feel the nausea whelming up in his stomach. Even though he had parachuted a million times before, he never got used to it and he probably never would. Jay was usually a calm and collected guy, known for his leveheadedness and mental strength. But this particulary task was always something that threw him off his balance.

Jay's younger brother Ved turned up beside him with a big grin, "Wow, you look like trash."

Jay just leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. They were nearing the time where they had to throw themselves out from the airplane and land on the ground somewhere. If they made it.

Ecko, one of the Technos, walked over to Jay and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Time to go," he said. He knew how much Jay dreaded this moment. Jay had a sinking feeling and started to double check if everything on his parachute was where it was supposed to be. On his right Ved was getting ready to jump and stepped out onto the edge of the plane. Behind Ved a line of Techno-jumpers formed. Jay placed himself at the very back of the line so he was the last one to jump.

"We're flying about 111 mph at a height of 1.476 feet," Ecko informed them. He had to yell in order to make himself heard above the roar from the motor.

"Ready?" he shouted loudly in order to drown the noise of the wind. "Go! Go!"

Ved took a deep breath, then threw himself into the air and disappeared out of sight. Jay always felt a jab of panic by the sight of this. He never knew if his little brother would make it or not. Or if any of them would. So far there had been three deaths when they had parachuted in the previous cities and Jay feared the worst.

His heart started to beat faster when the line was thinning out. When the Techno in front of him had jumped and disappeared out of sight, Jay stepped over to the opening and looked out. He took a deep breath as if he hoped it would make the panic in his stomach disappear. It didn't.

When he heard Ecko shouting, "Go!" he closed his eyes and jumped into the nothing. The panic in his stomach spread to the rest of his body and he felt his guts contract. The feeling of the lacking ground underneath his feet was almost unbearable and he started fumbling wildly with the string that should release his parachute and tugged hard at it. His heart almost stopped beating when nothing happened and he forced his eyes open and looked down. He could see the other parachutes underneath him. He kept tugging at the string for what felt like hours without anything happening. Even though he was still miles from the ground it seemed to get nearer and nearer with sickening speed.

Realising the parashute wasn't going to fold out, he made a swift decision. He pulled a handle, releasing the parachute from his back. He looked up and saw it disappear into the air above him. Then he pulled hard at another handle. The air was knocked out of him when the reserve parachute unfolded, reducing the speed abruptly. He felt an overwhelming relief run through his body. He was now gliding smoothly through the air and could relax enough to look down and see Ved land elegantly on the ground.

Jay made himself ready to land too. His feet hit the ground with such intensity that it forced him to his knees. He turned a somersault and landed flat on his back with his arms stretched out on either side of him. A couple of Technos, including Ved, came running over to him. Their head's formed a circle in Jay's view as they looked down at him.

"You okay, bro?" Ved asked and could barely suppress a grin as he bent over Jay.

"Fine," Jay mumbled and sat up. He was really shaken from the jump and needed to sit down for a while. But there wasn't time for that. Ram would soon land at the airstrip and he expected Jay to be there.

—

Ebony opened her eyes and sighed deeply. Something had woken her up from her sleep - she didn't know what though. She smiled contently and closed her sleepy eyes again. She was so comfortable in her warm and cosy bed with it's big fluffy pillows and silk sheets. Red of course.

5 seconds later her eyes flew open and she listened intensely. There was something noisy above them, like an airplane or something.

"That can't be?" Ebony whispered to herself as she climbed out of bed and walked over to her window. She shoved the curtains aside and looked out. The morning sunlight blinded her eyes and she couldn't see anything. But she was no longer in doubt. It was a plane.

Grabbing her long red silk coat she ran to the door and out into one of the hotel's many hallways. She ran down the hallway and headed for the entrance where she knew a couple of her militia guys would be on guard.

"What's happening?" she demanded when she reached them in the doorway.

"There's a plane. And parachutes," one of the guards said. He looked alarmed and nervous. Ebony walked outside, looked to the sky and then saw the plane. It was about a mile from the city and she could see the parachutes clearly. She turned to the guards, "Gather the rest of the militia and go check it out."

"But, Ebony-"

"It wasn't a question! Just do it! Now!"

The guard didn't move. Ebony gritted her teeth in annoyance and stepped closer to him so she was only inches away from his fearsome face.

"Do you want to get kicked out of the militia?" she snarled with chillingly menace, "Cause there are lots of guys who would kill anyone to be in your place. And I mean kill anyone, if you catch my drift?"

He seemed to catch her drift perfectly fine because he darted off with his pal right behind him. Ebony walked back inside and locked herself up in her room. She needed time to think.

—

The sun slowly rose from the horizon, painting the sky in a red and orange shade. Ebony walked through the deserted streets, feeling slightly uncomfortable. She walked with a slight frown, concerned about the lack of people that usually invaded the streets in these parts of town. She glanced over her shoulder to check up on her militia, loyally walking at her heel to watch over her.

When they arrived at the Mall they walked in through the main entrance until they met the grills which were open. Annoyed, Ebony started yelling at the rest of her tribe.

"Why aren't the grills down? Anyone could walk right in! Is that what you want? And where's the security guards? I want to have a word with the person on guard duty!" she scolded as she and her militia walked through the mall and up the stairs. When she reached the café she stopped and put her hands on her hips.

"What's going on?" she asked as she glanced at the few mallrats that sat around the small tables. They just looked at her with empty expressions, which sent chills down Ebony's spine. She was about to demand an answer, any kind of anwer, from them when something caught her eye. There was a movemt in the shadows to her right and then a figure stepped into the light.

"Amber!" Ebony exclaimed in surprise, "You're back." She wasn't particular pleased about this unexpected twist and she knew she didn't sound it either.

"No thanks to you," Amber said and glared at her. She was holding a small baby boy in her arms.

"Where's Bray?" Ebony asked, looking around as if she had somehow missed his presence. Ambers face fell and she looked down.

"They took him," she said in a small voice. Ebony felt a pang in her heart. God no, not him, she thought. She had always had feelings for Bray - secrete ones of course, she coudn't let anyone know of such a weakness. She shook it off and put on her best nonchalant expression, "What's going on?" she asked, holding out her arms in bewilderment.

"They've taken Alice and some of the other mallrats," Salene said, finally breaking her silence. Mouse hung by her arm. She looked at Ebony with huge brown eyes, looking like a scared kitten.

"What?" Ebony said with disbelief, "Who?"

"Men with masks," Amber said, "They invaded the Mall and there was a struggle, but they were too strong." She tightening her grip around Baby Bray who was crying.

"Well how did they get in?" Ebony asked, trying to get the facts right.

"How is that important?" Pride broke in, getting up in a swift move. "Our friends have been taken and that's all you can say?"

"Look, I'm just trying to find out what happened and why," Ebony said sharply. "Who exactly has been taken?" She looked around at Amber, Pride, Salene, Mouse and Cloe - the remaining members of the tribe.

"They took Alice, Ellie, May, the twins, K.C and Tai-san. We're all that's left," Amber informed her. She looked very pale, "And Bray." Her voice quivered uncharacteristically towards the end.

"Well what about Jack, Lex and Trudy?" Ebony wanted to know.

"Trudy's taken Brady to the Ecos," Pride said. "They are safe there. As for Lex and Jack, they've gone out to see if they can find out where they have taken the others. I'm gonna go see what I can find out." He disappeared into his room to get his coat.

"But who are they?" Ebony wondered.

"Who knows?" Cloe said, speaking for the first time since Ebony had arrived, "They came here on an airplane." She could still clearly see the masked men running around in the mall inside her mind. She shuddered.

Ebony nodded her head and then turned around to face her militia, "Go see what you can find out about this new tribe. You can go with Pride, watch his back."

"I'd rather go by myself, if you don't mind. I'm much better on my own," Pride said, coming out from his room.

"Suit yourself," Ebony said with a shrug of her shoulders, "Just make sure not to get taken. We can't effort to lose more members of our tribe."

She told her men to go and turned around towards Amber again, "We need to gather what's left of the city's tribe leaders," she said "I'm calling on a meeting right this instant." And with that she turned around and disappeared down the stairs.


	2. Chapter 2

2

Elegant like cat and quiet as a lion Pride moved through the city on his way to the airstrip. He walked in the shadows, staying out of sight, afraid of being spotted by these new incomers.

When he reached the airstrip he jumped down behind some bushes to hide from all eyes. He peeped out through the green leaves and watched these masked men that had spread fear and wonder throughout the city. They wore black suits and big combat boots; not all of them had masks on though. Pride studied this one unmasked man that had bright blond hair. He walked straight-backed and firmly over the grassy area towards something that Pride could only describe as an old military truck. As soon as the man had gotten into the truck, it started driving and disappeared behind a hill. Pride got up and darted off in the opposite direction towards his temporary home; the Mall.

He walked in through the entrance and found that it was not as quiet as it had been earlier this morning. As he came into the huge hall he looked at all the people that had gathered just beneath the stairs, talking loudly. Some of them was shouting. When he looked up at the stairs he saw a very annoyed-looking Ebony stand with her arms crossed. She seemed to have no control over the situation and Pride knew that it frustrated her. Ebony always liked to be in control.

He pushed through the crowd, climbing the stairs two steps at a time and walked over to Ebony.

"What's going on?" he demanded.

"What is happening is that the tribe leaders are a bunch of morons!" Ebony shouted the last word out loud down at the crowd below. Pride blinked his eyes at this exclaimation and then looked out over the people underneath him. No one seemed to take notice of Ebony's insult. They were all too busy yelling and arguing.

"I was just at the airstrip and I saw them get on a truck and head for the north city," Pride said, turning back to Ebony.

"The north city?" Ebony said with a frown, "What do they want there? There's nothing there."

"I don't know," Pride said, frowning as well. He stood for a while, pondering. Then he suddenly remembered, "There's only that one deserted building that the adults used as the thermal power station," he said, and his frown got deeper, "but since there's no electricity, I guess it's no use to them."

One of Ebony's guys came over to them and handed Ebony a megaphone. She took it angrily and put it to her mouth.

"LISTEN TO ME, ALL OF YOU!" her voice thundered, bouncing off the walls. Everyone immediately stopped shouting and looked up at Ebony who threw the megaphone down next to her on the floor.

"This might be a critical moment, but freaking out does not help!" she shouted with authority in her voice, "Now if you would just listen to me for a second, maybe we can figure out a way to get rid of these people!"

"Who are they!?" the leader of the Jackals yelled back at her. Ebony thought for a few seconds before answering. Obviously, she didn't know the answer to this question, but she couldn't lose face now.

"I don't who these people are, but I do know one thing; there have been rumours that they are the adults. Mark my words – this is not true. The adults are dead. We buried them ourselves."

"Then how are they flying that plane?" someone shouted.

"I don't know that either," Ebony said. Pride could hear her faltering slightly, like she was about to give up, but knew that she never in a million years would. "But I know that if we cooperate-"

"You mean surrender!" Moss, Queen of The Mozzies, interupted in a shriek. A heated mumbling broke out amongst the crowd.

"Of course not," Ebony hissed impatiently. Pride could see her nostrals flare with anger. He didn't blame her. These people were a tough crowd.

"We only need them to think that we've given up," she continued in a more calm voice, "It'll give us the chance to slowly and safely find out who they are and what their weaknesses are. You can't do that if you're taken away because you were fighting them. So just do as they say and don't get in their way, until we've found out who they are and what they want."

"So we should just let them take over our lives?" the Jackals's leader roared. His eyes bulged out in disbelief. Ebony eyed the megaphone like she wanted to pick up and throw it at him. But apparently she resisted the temptation and said instead, "It will only be a pretense. Only if we pretend to cooperate with them then maybe we have a chance to defeat them."

"And how are we gonna do that?" a voice said from the Mall entrance. Everyone turned around and looked at the person. It was a man. Dark hair, red jacket.

Ebony screwed her eyes up suspiciously, "And you are?"

"The name's Slade," the guy said, flashing them a wry smile.

"Don't you know, Slade, that this is a meeting for the tribe leaders only?" Ebony said, coldly.

"Yeah I figured that much."

"Then why don't you just leave, so we can get on with this meeting?" She waved her hand dismissively at him, like he was some oversized annoying bug or something.

"Sorry, I didn't know that tribe leaders should have a special invitation; looks like mine got lost in the mail. I'll just be on my way then," Slade said and turned around to leave.

"Hold it!" Ebony called out in an annoyed voice. Slade stopped with a mischievous smile and turned to face her again.

"Are you saying that you are a tribe leader?" she asked, sending Slade a look of disgust. Slade glanched at Ebony. She looked like she was getting tired of his little game and Pride knew that she hated being toyed with.

"Yup," Slade said cockily. He leaned back against the wall, one booted foot up and put his thumps in the front pockets of his jeans.

"Of which tribe?" Ebony demanded.

"Actually, it would be wrong to call me a tribe leader," Slade then said. Ebony glared at him, furious at his cockiness.

"The more accurate word would be city leader," he said, casually.

Ebony screwed up her eyes, "Excuse me?"

"I'm the leader of a city called Liberty."

"I've heard of that town!" Moz said, "The city of thugs, I've heard."

Slade just kept smiling, lazily, completely ignoring Moz.

Ebony sighed irritated, "Fine, you can stay!"

"How kind of you, ma'am," Slade said with a grin.

Ebony sent him a devastating glare before she said, "As an answer to you question, Mr Slade, if you had been here on time when the meeting started, you would have heard. But since you decided to make a late arrival, I'll have to fill you in. As I was telling the others, the best policy is cooperation. But only so that we can find out their weaknesses and then use it against them to defeat them. As for your question as to how we are going to do that..." She paused for dramatics and looked around at all of them solemnly.

Then she said, "We'll send in a spy." She looked immensely satisfied at her own cleverness.

"It'll have to be someone they won't suspect," she continued, "Who can go behind enemy lines and earn their trust."

She watched the other's reactions. No one said anything. They were processing it all. Even Slade apparently was at a loss of words, or maybe he decided that it would be best not to comment on this.

Pride was surprised himself. The Ebony he knew was known for fighting back fiercly whenever someone threathened her position as top dog. This was a very uncharacteristically move by her.

"We can defeat them," Ebony then said, almost softly, "Just like we defeated the Chosen." Pride hoped her words would work their magic on the others. They usually did.

"I'll send a word around in the city in a couple of days," she said, apparently satisfied with the general reaction to her plan, "Meeting over."

People started mumbling and then began slowly to exit the Mall.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Pride asked Ebony. She looked at him with a self-satisfied smile, "Trust me." And then walked away without another word.

Pride scowled after her, "Yeah, you would say that, wouldn't you." He mumbled to himself. He stood pouting when he suddenly spotted Amber at the café. He hadn't noticed her before. He strode towards her with long steps.

"Pride!" Amber said when she saw him, "Just the person I was looking for."

"Are you sure we can trust her?" Pride asked Amber in a low voice, nodding in the direction of where Ebony had gone.

"Please, it's Ebony we are talking about," Amber said with a roll of the eye, "Of course we can't trust her! That's why I have come up with a plan." She stepped closer to Pride and lowered her voice, "We'll assign her to do the job. She's gonna be our spy."

Pride's eyes almost popped out at her words. He couldn't believe what he was hearing, "What? That's crazy! She'd betray us without even blinking!"

"Scchh! Not so loud!" Amber hissed, looking around as if she was afraid Ebony stood lurking somewhere nearby.

"Don't you think I've thought of that? But she's our only chance to get close to these new invaders. You know how excellent her manipulating skills are. She'll have them charmed in no time. Maybe she can win someone important over or something. It'll split them up right away, I'm sure of it."

Pride started to object but Amber cut him off, "Look, I know that we can't trust her, so we'll send someone with her."

"But who? You know Ebony could easily fool anyone. You're forgetting she's the master of manipulation."

"Yes I know that!" Amber said a bit impatiently, "We need someone smart enough not to fall for her scam."

"Well who are you suggesting?"

"That guy," Amber said and pointed to a guy in a red jacket.

"Who? Slade?"

"Exactly!" Amber said, looking pleased with herself that she had come up with such a brilliant plan.

"How do you know we can trust him? If they hook up as a team, we're pretty much screwed," Pride said. He looked horrified at the thought of the two of them cahooting.

"I know this guy - he's Mr Honesty himself," Amber said while eyeing Slade, "And he's cleaver enough to resist her manipulation. He runs a whole city without as much as lifting a finger, he's brilliant!" She almost sounded devoted to this guy whom she had hand-picked for her plan.

"I hope this work," Pride said, looking sceptically. He wasn't feeling too sure.


	3. Chapter 3

3

A soft humming was filling the room in which the Technoes had put up dozens of computers. It was also very hot in the room as the many machines radiated heat in order to cool themselves down. Jay never really liked to work with these things too much. He was more of an outdorsie kind of man - liked to get things done manuelly. He felt claustofobic when he sat in these rooms with all the warmth from too many machines and too many people. Nevertheless it was a part of the job and the life he had chosen, so he just had to deal with it on occasions.

"Fase two is completed," he anounced to his boss, Ram. He was the founder of the Technoes – the main man. He was sitting in his wheelchair – a modified one, on electricity – due to an earlier accident. One he never spoke of.

"Excellent!" Ram said, looking into his computer, "Then now we can move on to fase three; make contact with the virts." He looked disgusted by the mere thought. He didn't like to interact with other people - especally virts - too many bacteria involved with those things.

"You'd better go take care of that, General," he said to Jay, "You seem to enjoy it." For some godawful reason Ram couldn't understand, "Find out who's the leader of this city and make contact."

Ved was sitting by a nearby computer and popped his head up, "Can I come?" he asked excidedly.

"No," both Ram and Jay said in union. Ved scowled, but knew better than to argue with them. Well with Ram anyway.

"There seems to be a problem with the program - that special one of your's," Jay said to Ram, "My men can't fix it." He said this a little comprehensively. How Ram reacted to delay and how ferocious the punishment would be, all depended on Ram's mood that day. Luckily, today he was in a rather jovial mood.

"Have Mega look at it - he'll fix it in no time," he said, and then waved Jay away with his hand. Jay nodded and left quickly, before Ram would change his mind and have all his men deleted and replaced.

—

Ebony was very pleased at how successful today's meeting had been. She had told everyone about her plan - not all the details of course, that would be bad for business - but the overall concept of it. She knew from experience that it was best to let people in on only what was absolutely nessecary and nothing more. Best to keep all the details to oneself. Now she was working on setting another, more secrete part of her plan in motion. She was walking at the balcony access inside the Mall, running alongside the private chambers of the Mallrats, when she saw the person she was looking for.

"Cloe!" Ebony called, walking faster to reach the teenager, "I need a word with you!"

"What did I do?" Cloe asked, jumping into immediate defense. She glanced back at Ebony annoyed and didn't stop so that she could catch up to her. She just kept walking.

"Nothing yet," Ebony said, speeding up to keep up with her, "But that's what I wanted to talk to you about," she said and walked by her side.

"I wouldn't be asking you this if I wasn't sure you could handle the job," Ebony said gravely, throwing out bait. She knew Cloe was so incredibly bored in the Mall.

Cloe took it.

She stopped and turned to face Ebony with a frown, "What kind of job?" Ebony could see that she tried to hide her interest, but was failing. Ebony was very pleased. She glanced around her, theatrically, and then lowered her voice, "I need someone to keep an eye on this new tribe, someone to report back to me."

Cloe was intrigued, "So what should I do?"

"Well I was thinking that maybe today you could go out and take a look on these people. What they are doing and where. It's vital that we know as much about them as possible. And to be honest, you're the only one in this Mall that I can trust, Cloe," Ebony said in her most convincing voice that she used every time she needed to persuade someone into doing stuff for her.

Apparently Cloe fell for it, "I'm in."

"But let's keep this between the two of us," Ebony said, "It's better that way."

Just then they heard a scream from downstairs and hurried down the stairs. Mouse stood paralysed in the middle of the mall square, staring at something by the gates. Amber, Salene and Pride came running down the stairs, alarmed by the scream. Ebony and Cloe followed suit. They all stopped dead in their tracks when they saw three men coming in through the entrance. Two of them with masks. And one with bleeched blond hair. Mouse ran behind Salene to hide.

"Who are you?" Amber demanded, her voice a little shaky. She clutched baby Bray more tightly, as if she was afraid they would grap him and twist him from her very arms.

"Don't worry, there's no need to be scared. I'm Jay," the blond guy said, holding up his hands.

"What do you want?" Ebony demanded, her eyes small slits with suspecion. Jay looked at her. He stared at her for a moment. It made Ebony uncomfortable, so she put on her best scowl.

"What's the matter? Lost your tongue, have you?" she said, pulling Jay out of it. He shook his head to get his thoughts straight.

"I'm looking for the city leader," he said, looking around at them. "Where can I find him?"

"You're looking at her," Ebony said with great dignity.

Jay looked surprised, "You're the city leader?"

"Is there something wrong with that?" Ebony said sharply, putting her hands on her hips.

"No no, of course not," Jay said, a smile twitching in the corner of his mouth, which didn't go unnoticed by Ebony. It bugged her more than she wanted it to.

"Who are you people?" Pride asked, anger clear in his voice.

Jay looked over at him, "We're called The Technoes."

"What are you doing here in our city?" Ebony asked, with all the acid she could muster.

"We're here to help," Jay said simply.

Ebony gave a small sarcastic laugh, "Help? Help us with what? Decreasing the city population?"

Jay smiled, "Not exactly. We're here to do great things. Things that will benefit all of us. You'll see soon enough."

"Thanks, but no thanks," Ebony said flatly.

"You can't just expect us to accept that you've taken our friends hostage," Pride said loudly. Ebony was surprised. The always so sofisticated Pride had trouble keeping his cool.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think you have much of a choise," Jay said, his face serious but his eyes smiling.

"Where have you taken them?" Salene demanded, holding Mouse tightly to her side.

"Don't worry, they're safe enough. They have a very important task to do," Jay said, looking at her.

"What kind of task?" she asked varily.

"I can't tell you. At least not yet."

"Well do we ever get to see them again?" Amber asked in a cold voice.

"Yes. If they do their job and behave," Jay said, "Look, I know you're worried about your friends, but everything is going to be alright, I promise. We're not the enemy."

"We'll see about that," Ebony said, crossing her arms, defiantly.

"If you cooperate and tell your people to do the same and follow orders everything will go smoothly and nobody will get hurt," Jay said, turning to speak directly to Ebony, "Please, for the sake of your people."

Ebony sighed frustrated. She was torn between going along with their plan of pretent-cooperating or following her natural urge to fight back fiercly.

"I'll see what I can do," she said gruffly at last. Jay nodded in appreciation and turned around and walked out of the Mall. Ebony followed suit, mumbling under her breath.

"That's our guy," Amber said to Pride when she was sure they had all left.

"You mean this Jay-guy?" Pride said, sceptically.

"Yeah, he's obviosly someone important. He'd be good to have on our side. We just send Ebony in to do her magic. I've already talked to Slade. He agreed to go with her, keep an eye on her."

Pride nodded and then looked at the direction of where Jay had been.

"You really think Jay's gonna fall for it? For her?" He asked with doubt in his voice.

"Well, he IS a man…" Amber said with a wink. They began looking for Ebony to initiate her into their plan - well most of it anyway.


	4. Chapter 4

4

"But it's not fair! I've got a heap of other things to do," Ved complained as he and Jay walked around a building.

"We all have work to do, Ved," Jay said, a little distracted. He was thinking of that feisty city leader. She was so tiny and delicate-looking, but Jay was certain that she wasn't one you wanted to mess with, despite her petite appearence. She had spunk.

"But why do I have to help you fix the cameras?" Ved went on, pulling Jay out of his thoughts, "It's too easy! I want to prove myself - do something impotant."

"If you want to prove yourself first you must complete the tasks you are given," Jay said simply.

"How poetic," Ved replied drily. Jay could almost hear the roll of Ved's annoyed eyes, so he sighed and said, "All the others are busy in the city. You on the other hand were doing nothing."

"I was busy with my computer!" Ved protested, sounding offended.

"Playing computergames is not productable."

"But – "

"Would you stop complaining?" Jay said, stopping in his tracks and turning to look at his brother, "Now hold the ladder while I climb up and fix the camera."

"Fine," Ved said moodily. Jay climbed up the ladder and onto the roof. Why did every damn thing have to be debated and complained about by his little brother? Why couldn't he understand that if he just shut up and did as he was told, things would get done so much faster and he would be let off sooner? Surely he didn't complain like this when he was working with Ram, or any other for that matter. Ved had alway been very passionate about doing his outmost to annoy Jay every second of the day. Today he was exceedingly succesful.

Ved stood on the ground, sulking. He hated doing stuff with Jay. His older brother was always so serious and boring, never did anything fun. As Ved stood there, an idea suddenly popped up in his head and a smirk appeared on his face. He looked up at Jay and saw that he was busy with the camera. Ved quietly removed the ladder and laid it on the ground, then soundlessly darted off over the yard and out of the fence before Jay noticed it.

He smirked as he walked down the empty street of sector five. He was happy to have gotten away from Jay and the boring work. He knew that Jay would be pissed off but he didn't really care. Jay was always pissed off at him, so he was used to it. Ved rounded a corner and groaned when he walked right into somebody.

—

"Why me?" Ebony said fiercly when Amber and Pride had told her about their plan about charming Jay over to their side.

"Because Trudy's not here, Salene has to look after the little ones and I have a baby," Amber said matter-of-factly, "Besides, I'm with Bray."

Ebony rolled her eyes at her, "So what?" She never liked to do anything that Amber suggested. It felt like she was winning and Ebony was very reluctant to give Amber that satisfaction.

"Please Ebony, you're our only chance," Pride said, obviously knowing that the two women would never agree with each other.

Ebony turned to look at him, putting her hands on her waist, "And if I say no?"

"Then we would have to kick you off your position as city leader," Amber said, pulling out the big guns. Ebony whipped her head back and glared at Amber. That cow! How dare she threathen her position as city leader? Then her lips curled into a scornful smile, "I'd like to see you try."

"Oh I will," Amber threathened, "Besides, I've already talked to the rest of the tribe leaders and they all agreed. This is your responsibility as our leader."

Ebony couldn't believe what she was hearing. Amber going behind her back and talk to all the other cityleaders was a low blow. Even for Amber.

Ebony looked at her with all the disgust and hate she could muster, "Guess I don't have a choise then, do I?" she hissed. Amber's face let up with proud complacency and Ebony wanted to smack that smugness right off her goddamn face.

"Then it's settled!" Amber chirped, "Ebony, tomorrow you'll start working on Jay. See what you can find out."

"Yeah yeah," Ebony said annoyed as she walked out of the café - away from Amber's victorious expression.

—

Cloe cried out in pain as someone walked right into her. The impack knocked the air right out of her and it was a few seconds before she could focus her sight on the person. Before her stood one of them - the enemy.

It was a boy around her age, all dressed in black, with big combat boots and a T painted on his forehead.

"Move out of my way," the boy said harshly, shoving her aside and striding right past her. How incredible rude!

"Hey! Watch where you're going, jerk!" Cloe spat at him. Who did he think he was?

The boy stopped short and turned around, glaring at her, "What did you say?"

"You heard!"

The boy snorted with contempt, "Don't you know who I am?"

"Yes, you're a jerk," Cloe said bravely, although now she thought about it, she wasn't so sure that it was the best idea for her to be provoking this new threat. They were somewhat scary with their planes and abductions.

The boy gaped at her, obviously impressed by her nerve. He then leaned against the wall and grinned, "You're not afraid of me, are you?"

"Of you?" Cloe said and snorted, "Don't make me laugh." A total lie, of course.

An evil smile formed on the boy's lips, "We'd better change that then."

Cloe watched as he fished a large bracelet out from his pocket and then grabbed her wrist whereupon he fastened it. It happened so fast Cloe had no time to react.

"Hey!" She protested, shocked, "What are you doing?!"

"Let's see how tough you are now, little girl."

"I'm not a little girl!" Cloe hated it when people called her that. The boy took a step backwards and watched with satisfaction as Cloe started to groan with pain. The bracelet was sending painful vibes through her wrist. She fell to her knees and cried out in pain as cramp-like japps shot through her wrist.

"Not so tough now, are we?" the boy sneered. He stepped closer to her in order to make the vibes stop. "What is your name?" he asked, looking down at her.

"Bite me!" Cloe snapped.

He took a step back and Cloe started to groan again as the vibes once more jolted her wrist.

"What. Is. Your. name?" he repeated slowly.

"Cloe," she moaned. He stepped closer to her to stop the pain.

"Well Cloe. See this thing?" He held up a small device for her to see, "This little baby controles the vibes in your bracelet. Get too far away from me and this activates. Guess you have to stick to me now." He smiled evily, while looking at his prey.

Cloe slowly got to her feet and then she turned to look at him with hooded eyes, holding her head high. She wasn't gonna let him see her fear and pain.

"And what's yours?" she asked flatly, meaning his name.

"It's Ved - but you can call me Master." He smirked at her, then said, abruptly, "Let's go." And started walking away with long quick strides.

"Where to?" Cloe asked and hurried after him so the painful vibes wouldn't start again.

"I'm asking the questions around here," Ved said, not bothering to look back at her to see if she could keep up. They walked in silence for a while. Cloe walked behind Ved, trying to figure out a way to remove the bracelet, but it seemed impossible without some kind of tool. Ved just walked ahead very pleased with himself.

It seemed to Cloe they had walked for hours when they finally arrived at a huge building surrounded by a high fence. Ved took Cloe in through the fence gate and lead her towards a round building that looked like a laboratory. They then crossed a grass area and got onto a path which lead to what Cloe figured had to be the entrance because there was a guard standing outside it. But as they neared the building Ved took a turn and followed a line of trees, hiding them from the guard.

"Why aren't we going in through the main entrance?" Cloe asked, getting a feeling that her capturer didn't want anyone to see them.

"Cut the questions!" came the short reply.

"Who are we hiding from?" Cloe pressed on.

"I said cut the questions," Ved said, stopping to check if the coast was clear.

"I could just scream right now, you know," Cloe said and Ved looked back at her, his expression annoyed. "Unless you want to feel that pain again, you shut up."

He turned back around and started to run towards a backdoor. Cloe followed closely. When they reached the building Ved found a card from his pocket and ran it through a machine on the wall. Cloe heard a click and watched with huge eyes as the door automatically opened.

"You have electricity?!" she asked, shocked and stared at the door. She had almost forgotten what it was like to have electricity. They had been without it for so long now.

"Yeah, pretty amazing, huh?" Ved said lazily and stepped into the building. He didn't sound too impressed.

Cloe would have hesitated with going with some stranger inside a dark building under normal circumstances, but since the situation was far from normal she followed him inside, afraid of the pain if he got too far away from her.

Ved hurried down a dark hallway which had many doors on either side, all with numbers on them. He stopped outside door number 48 and opened it with his card the same way he had before.

"Get in," Ved barked, turning to look at Cloe and pointing to the room. Cloe looked at him, not moving. She feared that he would lock her up inside the room and she couldn't stand being cooped up. Ved sighed annoyed and took a step back. The horrible pain ran through Cloe's arm like a cramp, only worse.

"Get in!" he hissed louder. Cloe had no choice but do what she was told. The pain was too much. She tumbled into the room and fell to the floor, holding her wrist.

"Make it stop! Make it stop!" she cried. Ved kneeled down next to her and the pain immediately disappeared.

"Not so tough now, huh?" he sneered into her ear.

"You wouldn't be either if you had a painful bracelet around your wrist," Cloe shot back, tears in her eyes from the pain. She blinked them away before they could fall.

"I'm not afraid of pain," Ved said, grabbing her other wrist and pulling her up by her arm. He dragged her to a drawer and pulled out the top drawer. He rummaged in it for a while, occasionally picking up a bracelet and looking at it, then putting it down again and taking up a new one. He did this a few times until he found what he was looking for. Turning to Cloe he took the bracelet around her wrist off and replaced it with another.

"What will this do?" Cloe asked anxiously, eyeing the new bracelet fearfully.

"You'll find out," Ved answered before he walked over to the door. Cloe realized that it didn't hurt although Ved was far away from her. Ved stopped before he opened the door and turned back to face her.

"You're mine now, for entertainment," he said, grinning evilly, "Don't leave the room and don't make a sound - it will be worst for yourself if you do. Trust me." And with that he turned around and walked out of the door, locking it behind him.

Cloe didn't like the sound of that at all. What did he mean 'entertainment'? What was this place and these peolpe? What were they going to do with her. Were they going to keep her here for ever?


	5. Chapter 5

5

The door sprung open and Jay came barging in, fuming. "I can't work with him!" he bellowed, completely losing his self-control. Ram spun his chair around, startled and then frowned disapprovingly. He looked annoyed at Jay, like some troublesome child had just walked in and desturbed him. Then he put his fingertips against each other and sighed, "General Jay. What appears to be the problem?"

"My brother!" Jay spat out. He was furious, to say the least.

Ram smiled and nodded knowingly, "Ah Ved. What's he done this time?"

"He's impossible to work with when he won't listen!"

Jay was pacing back and forth, unable to calm himself, "He's not following my orders!"

Ved had always been a rebel, all his life. Never did anything he didn't want to do - especially when it came to Jay. He didn't know why, but Ved had always kind of...despised Jay.

"Siblings. Aren't they a pain?" Ram said, interrupting Jays thoughts. How he would know was a mystery to Jay as Ram had no siblings. He didn't comment on this though but said instead, "If they're Ved, then yes."

"Don't worry, I will take care of him," Ram said, turning back to his laptop. Jay watched him for a minute as his own expression changed from anger to concern. Maybe he had been a little too hasty, going to Ram. Losing his self-control as well as his temper. This was never a good thing. He was worried what Ram might do to his little brother. You could never know what Ram would do. He was unpredictable.

"You can go now," Ram ordered, waving Jay away like he was some annoying insect. Jay stood there for a few seconds, silently debating his options. Then, reluctlently, he left the room.

—

Cloe was pacing back and forth in the room. She wasn't sure how to handle this situation she found herself in. Sure it was hers and Ebony's plan to spy on the Technoes, but this wasn't exactly the way she had planned on doing it. Getting captured like this by this CREEP. How was she supposed to be spying if she was cooped up in his room?

She suddenly heard the door open and stiffened. Ved came in carriyng a big bag and a tray of food - a bottle of water, fresh sliced fruit and dried beef. He put it all on the bed without a word and turned to look a Cloe.

"Well?" he said when she didn't respond to this, "Aren't you hungry?"

Cloe eyed the food suspiciously. Sure she was hungry, she was always hungry - in fact, she was starving. But she wasn't sure she should eat anything he offered her.

Ved rolled his eyes at her, as if he had read her thoughts, "I haven't poisened it, if that's what you think." He picked up a piece of apple and shoved it into his mouth, to prove his point, "See," he said around the apple.

Cloe hesitated for a few more seconds, then sighed and sat down on the bed and began to eat, greedily. It had been so long since she had had any meat. It didn't come easy now a days and she felt like she hadn't tasted anything so delicious in her intire life.

After a long while she looked up and saw Ved gazing down at her. He looked a little disgusted and she realised how she must have looked, stuffing her face like some savage. She picked up a napkin to wipe her mouth, feeling heat rush to her cheeks.

"Thanks for the food," she said quietly and pushed the tray away slightly, looking anywhere but at Ved.

"Yeah," Ved just said, picking up the tray and putting it away. He then grabbed the bag and unzipped it, pulling out a blanket and a pillow. Cloe looked at him with horror as realisation hit her.

"Are you going to make me sleep in here? With _you_?"

"Relax," Ved said rolling his eyes at her, "I'm not going to jump you." He looked her up and down, "Don't flatter yourself."

Then he threw the blanket and pillow on a couch standing at the far end of the room.

"Did you really think I would let you sleep that near me? You're filthy," he said with contempt.

Somewhere deep down, behind the horror at being captive and not knowing what the future held, Cloe felt offended. If there was something she cared about, it was good hygiene. Sure it wasn't as easy as back in the old days, when there was running water and showers, but she made a virture out of being clean.

"The bathroom's there," Ved said, pointing at a door to the right. "You can take a shower there."

He rummaged in the bag again and fished out a tooth brush and paste which he threw on the bed beside Cloe. She had a sinking feeling. He was really going to keep her here for a long time, wasn't he? He had it all planned out.

Ved got up and walked to the door, "Oh and Cloe," he said, turning to face her, "The bracelet's water-resistant, so don't get any ideas." And with that he left.

Cloe stepped out of the shower, grabbed a towel and began to dry herself with it. She hadn't felt so clean and refreshed as long as she could remember. She grabbed a strand of her hair and sniffed it. It smelled divine - of lilies and jasmine.

She put her clothes on and walked out of the bathroom. She found Ved sitting by a desk, looking into a computer. Looking at the computer screen after useful information would be a waste of time, Cloe thought, as there were only digits and letters, like a code, not making any sense to the untrained eye.

He didn't look up from the computer as Cloe walked over to the bed and sat down on it. She wasn't sure what to do or what he really wanted of her.

After a while Ved turned off the computer and spun around on his desk chair to finally look at her.

"Nice bath?" he asked.

"Yeah," Cloe said, and then added reluctantly, "Thanks."

"Sure," Ved said, and then added, "You're still sleeping on the couch though."

_Thank god!_ Cloe thought to herself. She looked down at her hands, absently fiddling with one of her fingerrings.

"Ved," she then said quietly and peeked up at him, "Why did you bring me here?"

Ved grinned at her, "Because I can."

Cloe sighed. She wasn't getting into this with him now anyway. She was too tired. It had been a long and strenuous day. She yawned, "I'm tired."

"Go to sleep then," Ved said, pointing to the couch. Cloe went back to the bathroom to brush her teeth. When she came back out Ved had already climbed under the covers of his own bed. He was on his back, with his arms hehind his head, eyes closed. Cloe walked over to the couch and then suddenly hesitated, as she realised she had nothing to wear to bed, no nigthgown. She wondered if she would get much sleep keeping her clothes on all through the night.

"What's the problem?" Ved asked, seeing her just standing there.

"I have nothing to wear to bed," Cloe said, turning to look at him. Ved grinned evily at her, raising an eyebrow. Cloe knew what he was thinking and hated him immensly.

"I'm not sleeping in just my underwear," she said coldly. Ved grinned and then sat up in bed. He was shirtless Cloe noticed with a rush of heat. Ved bent over and pulled out a drawer from under the bed. He pulled out a t-shirt and tossed it across the room to her.

Cloe sighed. This was probably the closest thing to a nigthgown she would get, so she dissapeared into the bathroom again and changed into it. Luckily, it was large enough to cover her up somewhat decently.

She emerged from the bathroom, not looking at Ved as she walked to the couch and crept under the blanket. It was actually nice and comfy, she thought with delight and snuggled down.

Ved turned off the lights without another word and they lay silently in the dark. Cloe had never slept in the same room with a boy before. Well, except Paul, but he had been like a brother to her and she had never thought anything of it.

This was a completely different situation. For one thing, she was much older now, no longer a child. Second, Ved was a stranger. When she was being held captive by the Chosen and sent off to work in the mines, she had slept together with strangers, but they were all girls, as they had been devided into groups of same sex.

She had really matured during her stay at the mines - she'd had to. She wasn't the same little Cloe she had been before the Chosen. When you were in the mines, along with dozens of other people, constantly scared for your life and always hungry, you had to grow up, stop crying and fight for yourself. Although the time in the mines had strengthend her character it wasn't a subject she liked to talk about. It hadn't been easy.

Cloe was only vagely concerned about her situation and the fact that there was a guy, half naked, only a few feet from her, and it wasn't long before sweet and welcome sleep got a hold on her and sent her into peacefulness.


	6. Chapter 6

6

Ved woke up early the next morning. He turned over in bed at looked at Cloe. She was sleeping soundly on the couch, her chest slowly rising and falling with every breath.

He smiled as he watched her. She was pretty, he had to admit. And she had nerve - something Ved deeply admired in a person. Why he had brought her here, he didn't really know. It wasn't something he had planned - it just sort of happened. He could be wreckless like that some times. Maybe out of boredom?

He wasn't intirely sure what to do with her now that she was here. He couldn't let her loose again, or she'd undoubtedly run back to her little tribe and blab. Then Ved would be in some serious trouble. Ram wouldn't be pleased at all if he found out - he'd maybe even delete him.

Well, he would just have to make up the rules on the way and take one day at a time. For now, she was to be remained hidden in his room, then maybe later, after he had "programmed" her, she could join the Technoes and gain access to the rest of the headquarters. There had to be some use for her. She couldn't be intirely useless. Everybody had some kind of skill. You'd just have to find it first.

Cloe moaned in her sleep and turned over to her side as Ved silently jumped out of bed and went into the bathroom. When he came back out some time later, newly washed and in his regular black suit, he glanced over at Cloe again. She was still asleep.

After taking his headset from the dresser and putting it on, he walked to the door and opened it quietly. He closed it softly behind him and walked down the corridor.

Once he was in the main computerroom, he sat down and turned on the computer. It was still early so there wasn't anyone here yet. That pleased Ved. He enjoyed these quiet mornings by himself. Anyway, Jay would unquestionably be coming into the room at any second and ruin his perfectly peacefull morning by yelling and screaming at him for his little stunt yesterday. He definitely wouldn't be happy.

His pedictions proved right as Jay came barging into the room shortly after. He had a murderous expression on his face and he walked straigth over to Ved. He put both his hands on the table and brought his head down close to Ved's.

"What is wrong with you!" he yelled, veins pulsating on his temples from anger, "Have you any idea how long it took me to get down from that roof?!"

"No," Ved said indifferently, not looking up from his computer, "but I'm guessing quite some time."

Jay growled angrily, grabbing Veds chair and spinning it around so he was facing him. His nostrils were flaring.

"Is this all just a joke to you?" he snarled, looking Ved right in the eye, "Have you no shame?"

"Oh relax," Ved said annoyed, shoving Jay hand away from the armrest so he could turn his chair back around, "It's was just a bit of fun."

"Well Ram certainly didn't think it was funny."

Ved spun back around to glare at Jay, "You told him!" It wasn't a question as much as an accusation.

"Of course I did," Jay said, dryly, "Did you really think there would be no consequenses of your actions?"

Ved didn't respond but just stared into his computer, moodily. _Great_, he thought sarcastically. Now he would have to answer to Ram. That was never a pleasent scenario. Of course, Ved was one of Rams favorites, but still - you could never know with Ram and Ved had seen good men be deleted for less than this. He would just have to wait and see.

He spend the most of the day behind the computer screen, working on different programs. He and Jay ignored each other intirely which pleased Ved. He was irritated with him for blabbering to Ram about yesterday.

In the late afternoon he stretched and then turned off the computer. He was done with todays programming and could take the rest of the day off. He wondered about Cloe in his room and felt excited to get back to her. No doubt she was going to be unhappy being cooped up in his room all day long. He would have to come up with some sollution about her stay at some point. But for now she would just have to cope.

He got up and pushed his chair back under the table, then crossed the room, completely ignoring Jay as he passed. He darted down the corridor and went into the kitchen. They had plenty of food, gathered over the years at their tour around the country. It was mostly dehydrated millitary food, that practically had no expiration date, but also fresh fruits and vegestables, grown at farms.

He grabbed some fruits and a can of creamed vanilla rice, a spoon from the drawer and a coke. Then he ran back down the hall, ran his cart through the device at his door and heard it unlock with a click. He pushed the door open with his shoulder and went inside.

—

Cloe was sitting at the couch and looked up when Ved entered. She watched with a sour expression as Ved put the food at the bed.

"Hungry?"

Cloe got up and went over to the bed where she sat down, "I'm starving actually," she said, indignantly, "You left me here all day without anything to eat or do." She shot him a look of disgust before picking up a pear and taking a bite.

"Yeah well," Ved said, "I'm guessing you used the time to plan all sorts of painfull ways to punish me." He flashed her a cheeky grin, that made Cloe just a bit less angry with him.

"Oh you have no idea," she said, opening the can of creamy rice.

Ved just watched her eat without another word. When she had finished he took the empty can and threw it in the trash.

"I'll see if I can get you some entertainment tomorrow," he said, glancing over at her, "Magazines and stuff."

Cloe sighed, not too impressed by his offer. _Well it's better than nothing_, she thought. Not that she was going to let him off that easy. She looked at him and then said, "Or you could just let me go..."

Ved snorted, scornfully, "No way. I can't have you running back to your little friends and blab about all of this."

"I won't tell anyone about this, I promise!" Cloe said quickly. A little too quickly.

"Nice try."

"Just let me go - _please_."

"Not a chance."

"Fine!" Cloe exclaimed angrily. She fell back on the bed and sulked. It was so frustrating not having a choise. There was nothing she could do to make him change his mind. She was absolutely and irreversibly stuck here. She fought back angry tears.

Ved got off the bed and walked over to the big closet. Cloe blinked away treacherous tears and turned her head to see what he was doing. Ved opened the doors of the closet, revealing a tv. Cloe had been so hungry and miserable all day that her curiosity hadn't gotten the better of her to go through all of his stuff yet. Ved pulled out a drawer in the closet and found a VHS film. He put it in the player and turned on the tv.

_A movie! _Cloe thought excitedly, all her misery forgotten. It had been years since she'd last seen tv, there being no electricity around and all.

She sat up as Ved jumped onto the bed beside her. He sat back against a big pillow and turned up the volume with the tv remote. He padded the matress beside him, gesturing for Cloe to come sit next to him. Cloe raised her eyebrows resentfully at him and turned her back to him. She laid down on her stomach, propping herself up on her elbows. She looked down at her wrist and moaded softly with pain. That stupid bracelet was gnawing at her wrist, making the skin all red and irritated. She rubbed it gently.

She heard Ved get off the bed, go around it and kneel down at the end of it where Cloe was lying. He grabbed her hand without a word and pulled it closer to him to take a look at her wrist.

Cloe tried to pull her hand back but it only made him thighten his grib around it. He sat there for at while looking at it, thinking silently. Then he pulled out a key ring from his pocket and found a tiny key. He looked Cloe in the eye with a neautral expression while he unlocked the braclet and let it slide off down onto the bed. He then got up and retook his position against the headboard.

Cloe rubbed her sore skin, surprised. She just couldn't figure this guy out. One minute his was rude and even evil - the other he would be nice to her, almost acting like he cared. Why was he so goddamn unpredicteble?

—

Ved couldn't quite concentrate on the movie. He had seen it a dozen times anyway. He looked at Cloe with a small frown - now that he had removed the braclet he sure hoped she wouldn't take advantage of it and try to escape. But he just couldn't leave it on her when it was hurting her. It bugged him that he would care about that. The well-being of virts usually didn't concern him too much, but this particular one got under his skin for some reason.

They watched the movie in utter silence and at some point Ved's eyes got heavy and he dozed off. It was some time later when he suddenly woke up - something had pulled him from his sleep. He lay for a bit, slowly waking up, when he suddenly realized what had awakened him.

Something was off with his hand - it felt strangely warm and a bit damp. He opened his eyes to investegate, but it took a couple of seconds before his eyes had adjusted enough to the darkness to see. As he turned his head to look down his arm, he got a bit of a shock.

Cloe was still lying on his bed, but had shifted position sometime during the night, so that she was now turning the right way. The reason his hand was so warm was because it was resting on Cloe's back. It had somehow found it's way to the small of her back, just beneath her yellow top where the skin was showing. He must have done it in his sleep Ved thought, rather flustered, and removed it slowly, afraid of waking her up.

He then turned off the tv, got off the bed and walked silently to the couch, where he grabbed a blanket. He walked back to the bed and put it over Cloe so she wouldn't be cold - she was no good to him if she got sick, he told himself. After taking off his clothes he crept under his own covers and turned off the lights.


	7. Chapter 7

7

It was getting dark when Ebony arrived at the Techno Headquarters. She hid in the shadows behind some bushes to hide from the guards. Calculating the situation for a while, she was trying to decide what to do, weighing her options. She curtainly couldn't take out two armed guards all by herself. Perhaps she should just get up, walk right over there and demand to speak to their leader. But she wasn't sure what would happen when she aproached them. Maybe they'd take her out before she even got to open her mouth.

"Lurking in the shadows, are we?" a voice suddenly said behind her. Ebony almost screamed with fright. She spun around and saw Slade, grinning down at her.

"Ssshh!" she hissed, her heart in a raging galop. She waved for him to get down next to her, "What are you doing here?" She wanted to punch that smile right off his face.

Slade kneeled down beside her, "Watching your back," he whispered, humor clear in his voice.

"Well my _back_ doesn't need looking after, thank you very much."

"No?" Slade said, grinning, "That's too bad."

Ebony rolled her eyes at him and went back to watching the guards.

"What are we looking at?" Slade asked in a exaggerated whisper, taunting her just a bit. Ebony didn't answer, just rolled her eyes and then pointed to the guards.

"I could help you, ya know," Slade said, nodding his head towards the building.

Ebony snorted,"Oh please! Don't underestimate me, I can take care of myself." She shook her head at him. Didn't he know who she was? The queen of surviving, that's who.

"I somehow don't doubt that at all," Slade said with a small laugh.

"So why don't you just run along and let me do my job," Ebony said, waving him away, annoyed.

"I think I'll stick around for a while."

"Look, what's-your-face," Ebony said, turning to glare at him, "Why won't you just leave me alone?"

A surprised look appeared on Slade's face for a second, but then he quickly recovered and a smile spread across his face, "I've never met anyone quite as impatient as you."

"And I've never met anyone as annoying as you," Ebony shot back.

"Uuuh feisty."

"I will be a lot more than feisty if you don't get out of my face!" Ebony snarled.

A mischievous smile spread on Slade's face, "I'd like to see that."

"Look, don't push me!" She'd had just about enough of his games.

Slade held up his hands in surrender, "Sorry," and smiled smugly.

"Why are you so interested in the Technos anyway?" Ebony then asked, "I mean, they aren't even in Liberty."

"Yet. Besides, I've heard some rumours that there might be someone I know from old times amongst them." Slade shifted uncomfortably. Ebony eyed him, wondering what that might mean, but there wasn't time for that now. She made a mental note to ask questions about that later. For now she concentrated on calculating their chances. Now that Slade was here and didn't seem to go away any time soon, she might as well put him to good use.

"When I say 'now' we jump the guards," she said.

"Sure, just the two of us against a whole bunch of armed guards - that'll work out fine." His tone was thick with sarcasm.

"We will just have to make sure they don't see us coming. The benefit of surprise," Ebony said with confidence. This wasn't her first surprise attack. She knew what she was doing.

"And just how do you suggest we get past the security cameras?" Slade nodded towards the cameras hanging from every corner of the area.

"Well I don't hear you making any suggestions," Ebony snapped, glaring at Slade, "In fact, all I hear from you are guff. If you're so clever what do you suggest?" That annoying little...

Slade smiled, "We walk in unnoticed."

Ebony rolled her eyes for the hundredth time, "Well I'll just bring my invisibility cloak then."

"Or we could go in the backdoor..."

"There's a backdoor?"

"Yup."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go." Ebony jumped up and Slade sprang after her. He surprised her by taking her hand as he passed her, running quietly and leading her down a line of trees. She decided it was no harm and let him, although, usually she did like to be the one in charge and not the follower. They ran all the way to the back of the building and hid behind some dumpsters. They peeked out from behind them to take a look at the backdoor.

"It seems unguarded," Slade said, looking around to see if he could detect any danger.

"That would be too easy," Ebony said, uneasy. "I mean, what's the point of heavy security at the front entrance if there's no-one guarding the back?"

"It's probably locked," Slade said.

"Shall we go check?" Ebony asked. She didn't wait for an answer, but leaped up and ran to the door.

"Ebony wait!" Slade said hoarsly. He saw her twist the handle and gaped as it crakced open. She grinned back at him with triumph and he smiled and shook his head at her dumb luck.

And then all hell broke lose.

Slade watched in horror as three - four - five techno guards poured out of the door, holding their stunguns up high, pointing them at Ebony. Slade remained hidden behind the dumpsters. There was no way he could take on 5 gunloaded guards and walk away from it alive.

"Ah no worries, it's just some virt chick," one of the guards said with a smirk. His fellow guards started to grunt with laughter. Ebony screwed up her eyes. _Virt chick?_ This guy was messing with the wrong woman.

The guard stepped closer to Ebony, putting his face all the way down to hers.

"What's your name, little lady?"

"Bite me," Ebony shot back.

The guard grinned, "Maybe I will."

Ebony took action without thinking too long about it. It was just something she did, almost unconsciously, as her survival instincts took over. She kneed him in the crotch, causing him to bend over groaning. Ebony smirked as she watched him sink to the ground.

"Not just some chick, huh?" she said to him. She was instantly grabbed by the other guards and handcuffed.

"Take her to the cages!" the techno on the ground growled and pointed to the door. He got up with some trouble and came close to Ebonys face again, "You'll regret this."

Slade could only watch as the guards pushed Ebony in through the door, roughly, and closed it behind them, leading her into the unknown.


	8. Chapter 8

8

It was the sunlight that woke Cloe up. It must have been relatively early because the light was cold and dim. She lay with her eyes closed for a while, just enjoying her sleepy state. She felt so warm and comfortable. After a while she finally opened her eyes slowly.

And then took in a small shocked gasp of air.

Ved was next to her, his face so very close to hers. She lay frosen, afraid of wakening him up.

Ved stirred and his eyes fluttered as he slowly opened them. At first they found Cloe's mouth, where they lingered for a moment. Then they slowly travelled up her face undtil they met her eyes, holding her in place.

"Hey," he then said, his voice raspy from sleep. He closed his eyes sleepily again, releasing Cloe from her spell.

She sat up in bed and looked down at herself, realising another reason she felt so warm and comfortable. A large blanket covered her body - she recognised it from her couch-bed. Ved must have gotten it and put it over her as she slept. What a decent thing to do by such a indecent person, she thought with a frown.

"I'm sorry - I must have fallen asleep," she then muttered, not looking at him.

"It's fine, don't worry," Ved said, stretching and yawned. Cloe scrambled out of bed and fled to the bathroom, embarressed. They had been lying so close. She hadn't meant to sleep in his bed all night. It just sort of happened.

After brushing her teeth and taking a quick wash, she walked back out of the bathroom. She was relieved to see that Ved had gone, so she didn't have to deal with that awful awkwardness.

Half an hour passed, where Cloe just sat on the bed, thinking about everything, when suddenly she heard yelling. It was muffled, but she could just make out the words.

"Hey! Let me out! You hear!" There was a sound of banging and more yelling. Cloe followed the voice. It got clearer as she entered the bathroom and it lead her to a ventilator shaft. The voice was loud and clear through here and Cloe knew that voice.

"Ebony?" She called through the shaft, "Ebony is that you?"

There was a short silence - then, "Cloe?"

"Yes it's me!" Cloe cried, glad to hear a familiar voice.

"Cloe! What are you doing here?" Ebony asked, sounding concerned. Something rare for Ebony.

"I could ask you the same thing," Cloe said, almost laughing.

There was another short silence, then Ebony said with some bitterness, "They caught me. And locked me up in here."

Cloe had known Ebony long enough to know that her pride was hurt. Like seriously.

"How about you?" Ebony then asked.

"I was caught too. By Ved. He's that guy Jays younger brother - a real jerk," Cloe said with a sigh, scowling at the thought of him.

"Cloe, has he hurt you?" There was something ominous about Ebony's tone. It almost made Cloe think Ebony actually cared.

Cloe looked down and said quietly,"No, not really."

There was another long silence, before Ebony said, "We'll get out of here - I promise."

A feeling of resolute grew in Cloes stomach, "No, I'm fine. Really," she said. She'd made up her mind and it was set in steel, "Just leave me here. I'll spy on them. Just don't tell anyone I'm here."

"Cloe, are you sure about this?" Ebony asked, scepticism thick in her voice.

"I'm sure."

"Okay," she said after a while, "But if he hurts you..." her voice trailed off in silent threaths.

"He won't," Cloe said and then added in her own mind: ..._I hope_.

"When I get out of here I'll send someone to check on you," Ebony said, "And if it gets too much, we'll get you out - I swear."

"Don't worry about me," Cloe said, sounding more brave than she felt, "I'll be fine."

"Cloe-" Ebony began but she suddenly went silent.

"Ebony?" Cloe asked with a rising panic. There was some noise and more voices - male ones. Cloe knew she shouldn't make a sound, so they wouldn't find out she was there and come investigate. She could hear there was a struggle and yelling but soon Ebony's protesting squeaks dwindled when there was a sound of a door closing. Then utter and complete silence.

—

Cloe stripped down to her underwear, grabbed a towel from the drawers and went into the bathroom to shower. Once under the steaming hot water Cloe sighed and relaxed. It felt so good just standing there, letting the water warm up her body. She stood there for a very long time, until the hot water ran out and it became cold. Then she turned it off and twisted the water from her hair.

The mirror was fogged up so she dried it off with the towel and looked at herself. Seing her hair was a mess she scowled at her own reflection, then grabbed a brush and ran it through the tangles.

Wrapping herself up in the towel she walked out of the bathroom. When she came into the bedroom she noticed that all her clothes had dissapeared from the bed and found Ved lying on it instead.

"What have you done to my clothes?" she demanded, making Ved look at her. His eyes wondered down to the towel around her body, then further down and lingered at her bare legs. A wry smile formed on his face.

"I've send them to the dry-cleaners," he said with a smirk.

"Ved, seriously."

"I threw them out."

"You did WHAT?" Cloe yelled, not quite able to believe it.

Ved jumped off the bed, alarmed, "Shut up, someone will hear you!"

"Did you throw my clothes out?!"

"Yes," Ved said, sounding slightly annoyed.

"And what am I suppose to wear now? A towel?"

The grin was immediately back on Ved's face, "Not a bad idea – it suits you."

"Tell me you're kidding!" Cloe couldn't believe this. The nerve of him!

"Relax, I've got it covered," Ved said, rolling his eyes and then walked over to his drawer. He rummaged in it and pulled out a black suit, identical to the one he was wearing himself. He tossed it at Cloe, "Here."

"What's this?" Cloe asked, holding up the suit and looking at it sceptically.

"What does it look like?" Ved said, rolling his eyes.

"Something the cat dragged in," Cloe said with disgust. It looked cheap and synthetic. And all black - not at all bright and happy like her own clothes.

"Just put it on," Ved snapped. Cloe sighed and walked into the bathroom. Ved tilted his head and admired her towelwrapped figure as she walked.

Once in the bathroom Cloe dropped the towel and then held up the suit in front of her, a deep scowl covering her face. She really didn't want to out it on - it just felt wrong, like crossing over to the enemy, like betraying her own tribe. It's only pretent, Cloe had to remind herself, a necessity on the road to defeat this goddamn tribe. Letting out a deep, almost growling sigh, she began putting it on. A few minutes later she re-emerged from the bathroom.

"Well?" she said, holding out her arms and looked down at herself, "How does it look?"

Ved had to control himself not to stare. The black fabric clung to her body, showing all of her curves. He had to admit: she was kind of hot – for a virt. But he quickly snapped out of it, before she noticed. He had to keep his cool.

"Like something the cat dragged in," he said, using her own words from before. Cloe rolled her eyes, picked up a pillow from the big armchair and threw it at him. He caught it laughing. Cloe sat down next to him on the bed.

"Does this mean you're going to let me out of this room?" she asked, referring to the new Techno outfit.

"No," Ved said curtly.

"Why not?"

"Because if anyone sees you, they'll kill you."

Icy shivers ran down Cloes spine. This was surely a dangerous quest she had begon.

"So why are you making me wear this?" She grabbed a handful of the black fabric.

"It'll make you less noticeable if anyone were to see you," Ved answered.

Cloe sat quietly for a while, pondering. If he was concerned about her not being killed, that must mean he cared about her - a little. Maybe he wasn't as bad as he seemed. Maybe she could actually like it here, for the duration of her stay. There was still one thing she couldn't grasp though. What was his point in bringing her here?

She looked over at Ved and found him looking at her with curious eyes. He had beautiful eyes, she suddenly realised - almond shaped and light blue. His intense stare threw her off slightly and she closed her eyes for a few seconds to brake the spell.

"I heard voices this morning," she then said, trying to sound indifferent, "Some woman shouting."

"Ah it was just some virt," Ved said, laying down on his back, hands behind his head, "Feisty little thing."

He then laughed, "She took out one of the guards - the biggest and badest of them. I was kinda impressed."

"What are they going to do with her?"

"Dunno. Probably waste her." He said this with total indifference. Cloe turned to hide her horror.

"Maybe we'll just make her go and work in the mines," Ved said after some thought, "You can never know with Ram. He's totally unpredictable."

Finally - some useful informtion!

"Mines?" Cloe asked, as innocently as she could. Ved eyed her sideways. He knew he had said too much already.

"Never you mind," he said a bit coldly, "Why are you asking me all these questions anyway?"

Cloe shrugged, avoiding his scrutinising gaze, "I was just curious."

Ved suddenly sat up in bed, glaring at her, "Are you spying on me?"

"No, of course not!" Cloe replied, just a tad shrill. She cleared her throat, "It's my city you're changing, I have to live here, I want to know what's going on."

"Well it's not really any of your business, is it. You're just some virt."

He nearly spat at the last word. Cloe looked down. For some reason it hurt her feelings. Not so much the namecalling (she knew that 'virt' was definately not a positive word), as much as the tone in his voice. Was that really how he saw her. As just some virt girl, lower than the dirt on his boots. She frowned - why was this bothering her so much? It shouldn't.

"Why am I here?" she asked suddenly.

"I told you, if they find you they'll kill you. And me. I can't risk you running back to your little virt friends and blab about this." He sounded immensly annoyed.

"No, I mean why am I here in the first place? Why did you bring me here Ved?"

"It was not something I planned okay?" Ved snapped, turning away.

"But why?" Cloe demanded.

"Just knock it off!" Ved snarled, getting up, "I didn't do it for any reason okay, so just leave it!"

"Fine," Cloe said, surprised by the way he acted. Ved snorted, like some aggrevated bull, and stormed out the door, slamming it behind him. Cloe was left shocked and confused.


	9. Chapter 9

9

Ebony winced in pain as she was led down a long hallway by two techno guards. One of them - a tall, gruffy looking man - had a firm, painful hold on her upper arm and he wasn't being gentle.

Ebony tried to take in as much as she could of the inside building. Knowing as much as possible about these people might help defeat them. There wasn't much to see so far though; just plain white walls and bland interior - sterile, was the first word that came to Ebony's mind. She had seen some computers, though, more than a usual household would need. There wasn't much to say about the people either. They all wore black suits and big combat boots. They all had the same headgear (occasionally crackling with muffled voices) and the same goddamn stungun around their wrists. Ebony had seen them use this stungun on civiliens and it did not look pleasent. Some of them went out cold and didn't wake up again for a while.

They suddenly stopped outside a door and one of the guards knocked on it and then opened it without waiting for permission. Ebony was shoved inside so roughly that she almost fell to the ground. She stumbled in, luckily regained her balance and gritted her teeth. She was about to turn around and give the guard a piece of her mind when someone spoke.

"Easy now."

Ebony looked up. She hadn't seen the person when she was so rudely being pushed inside. It was a techno; male, blond and about her age. Then Ebony recognized him; it was that Jay guy, that had come to the mall. He was looking at the guard and Ebony realised that he wasn't talking to her - but to the guard.

"She's not posing any threat, there's no need for violence."

"Sir!" that guard said, clicking his heels together in obidience.

"At ease," Jay said, allowing the guard to talk.

"Commander Jay, Sir," the guard said, "Shall I inform Lord Ram about this?"

Jay snapped his head up and looked at the guard with a stone face, "No. There's no need to trouble him with such insignificant things. He has more important things to think about."

Ebony raised an eyebrow at his words. So she was just some insignificant thing, was she? He would regret saying that later.

"I'll handle this. Leave us," Jay said to the guards. They nodded and left the room, closing the door behind them.

Jay looked down at Ebony with a softer face, "So - you're the troublemaker."

"That's me," Ebony replied cockily. She always kept her cool, no matter what kind of predicament she found herself in. Life experience had tought her that.

"I thought I told you to coopperate," Jay said. There was a certain authority about him. He had an aura of power and respect. Qualities that Ebony admired deeply.

However, as she found it best to keep such positive feelings to herself, she put on a scowl, "I don't take orders well."

"Clearly," Jay said. He strolled closer to her and began circling her slowly - like a preditor around it's prey.

"What are we going to do about that?"

"I don't think there's much you can do," Ebony said, "I'm all set in my ways." She didn't like him circling her like that. It made her feel trapped - something she hated. She had Zoot to thank for that.

Jay smiled, stopping right in front of her and looked down at her, "There's always a way."

Something about those words made Ebony shiver slightly. To cover up her discomfort, she put up her chin, screwed up her eyes and said, "Listen, I'm not in the mood for games, okay? So why don't you just get on with it and stop wasting my time."

"Funny. I thought it was _you_ wasting _my_ time."

"Look Jay," Ebony said, impatiently, "I did what I had to do to protect myself from that creep. If you people hadn't invaded my city, then I wouldn't in this mess, would I?"

Jay looked at her for a little while, seeming to debate something with himself internally.

Then he asked, "Why are you working against us? This will be so much easier if we just work together."

Ebony gave a small sarcastic laugh, "Work together? You mean 'shut up and follow orders'."

"I mean," Jay said, glaring slightly at her, "letting us do our job without resistance. We are here to do work that will benefit all of us - trust me."

"Trust you?" Ebony snorted, "Trust is something you earn. And so far all you have done is the complete opposite of earning my trust." She was really getting sick and tired of this tribe. Saying they were here to do good things, but not regarding the consequenses of doing it.

"You're right," Jay said then quietly and Ebony looked up at him in surprise, "I haven't earned your trust. And I'd like to do something about that."

He fished out a set of keys from his pocket and walked behind Ebony, where he removed her handcups. Ebony rubbed her sore wrists and looked at him suspiciously.

"You're letting me go?" she asked sceptically.

"Yes," Jay said, smiling at her suspicious expression, but then put up his finger, his face getting serious, "But just this once. You won't get off that easy next time. So please - let there be no next time."

Ebony didn't get a chance to respond as the door suddenly flew open and the guy she had kneed in the crotch barged in. His face was bright red from strain and he was huffing and puffing. He looked absolutely murderous.

"Smith! What's the meaning of this?" Jay said sharply, referring to the unauthorized barging in.

"Sh-she's the one who attacked me!" the guard called Smith spluttered, pointing at Ebony with a thick finger.

"Yes, I'm aware," Jay said coldly, "And I'm handling it."

"She needs to be punished!"

Ebony rolled her eyes. _So dramatic! _she thought.

"I said, I'm handling it!" Jay barked, "You're dismissed!"

He glared at Smith, who apparently had completely forgotten his place.

"I told Ram!" Smith then bellowed after a few seconds of staring contest with Jay.

"You did what?" Jay exclaimed, taking a step closer to him, "I haven't given you permission to do that! You're out of line!"

Smith didn't get a chance to respond, because suddenly there was a noise from Jay's headset. He put his finger to it to activate it and Ebony could hear a voice clearly coming through.

_"Commandor Jay."_

"Lord Ram," Jay said, looking vary. Ebony listened intently. She figured this 'Ram' must be their leader as they all called him 'Lord'.

"_I hear we have some virt problem?"_ Came Ram's voice.

"It's nothing," Jay said quickly, "Of little importance."

_"Why haven't you reported to me?"_

"I felt there was no need. I'm taking care of it."

_"I hope you're planning on punishing them, I can't have virts running around attacking my men."_

"But Ram-"

_"Put her in the cells. We'll have to come up with some clever way to punish them - make a memorible example of it - so that the rest of the virts won't forget."_

"But-" Jay began, but the connection was cut off. He looked at Ebony, regret clear in his handsome face, and she knew this was not what he had planned for.

"Justice…" Smith snickered, showing Ebony a set of yellow teeth. He crossed the room in three long strides and grabbed Ebony's arm. He bore his fingers into it until she cried out in pain.

He turned around and went for the door, dragging Ebony along roughly. She caught Jay's eyes for a split second just as she was pulled out of the room and saw the resignment and helplessness in them - mirroring her own.


	10. Chapter 10

10

Cloe was pacing back and forth in Ved's room. She could feel anxiety pressing against her chest. What if they were really going to waste Ebony? Sure the two of them hadn't always been the best of friends - Ebony had always been kind of a loner; only looking after number one - but Cloe didn't wish to see her die. Sometimes Cloe felt that Ebony was the only one who understood her - she didn't treat her like a child as everyone else did. Cloe appreciated that.

As she paced back and forth she became more and more determined to do something to save Ebony. Even if she was just sent to work in the mines, that was bad enough - Cloe had been there; sent to work there by the Chosen. And she didn't wish that for anyone. She used the rest of the day making up a plan in her mind, that would get her out of here so she could go tell the rest of the Mallrats. They would help Ebony, she was sure - it was the Mallrat way.

Ved showed up at the usual time, around dinner time. He had brought her something to eat and drink, which he put down on the bed for her as usual. But tonight he was mute and huffy, clearly still sulking about their last conversation. Cloe just rolled her eyes at him, playing along. Soon she would be rid of him, if everything went acording to plan.

They hadn't said a word to each other all night when they went to bed. Ved had been sitting by his computer with a constant scowl on his face and Cloe had been trying to read some magazines. She couldn't quite concentrate though, because she was impatient for him to go to bed. When he finally did, he crawled under the covers and turned out the lights silently.

Cloe went to bed too and lay listening in the dark. She could hear him toss and turn while sighing frustrated. She wondered what his problem was - it wasn't like they hadn't fought before. And anyway, why should he care - he never seemed to.

It felt like hours before Ved's breatheing finally became deep and steady. Cloe waited a little while longer, making sure he was far away in dreamland before she pushed her blanket aside and silently stood up. She tiptoed through the room, around Ved's bed and went to his bedside.

It was dark in the room, but there was just enough moonlight, streaming in through the window, for Cloe to be able to see him. She looked down at his face. He looked troubled somehow - like sleep hadn't been able to completely wash away his anger.

It was a shame though, Cloe thought, that they had to part like this - mad at each other. But then she shook her head at herself; foolish! Of course they were mad at each other. They were enemies for crying out loud! He had kidnapped her and held her captive against her will. She should hate him!

Yet she didn't.

"Bye," she whispered. Sighing deeply, she turned around and went to the chair where Ved always put his clothes at night. She glanced over her shoulder at Ved, to make sure he was still sleeping. Then she stuck her hand into the pocket of his trousers and fished up a card. It was the card that would unlock the doors of this building, Cloe knew. Ved used it when ever he went ind and out of his room.

As Cloe stood by the door, she hesitated. Her heart was racing. She didn't know if she would succeed. Maybe there were guards everywhere at night, guarding the exits. She would just have to take her chance - take things as they came. She ran the card through the device beside the door and heard the 'click' that indicated that the door unlocked.

"What are you doing?"

Cloe gasped and turned around to look at Ved with wide eyes. This was not part of her plan. She was so sure he was fast asleep.

"No!" she heard Ved say as realisation hit him. His eyes grew big, "Cloe wait!"

Cloe turned back around and flung the door open. She heard Ved scramble out of bed and made a run for it. She ran down the hallway until she met a t-section, then stopped to orientate. She knew she had to think fast. Left or right? She couldn't remember which way she had came when Ved had brought her here. She heard a noise and looked back as Ved appeared at the door to his room. He had managed to but on a pair of sweatpants, but was shirtless. He looked around wildly until he saw Cloe.

"Stop!" he demanded, but Cloe took off running. She turned right and ran as fast as she could towards a door. Her heart thundered deafening in her ears and she could sense him right behind her.

Just before she reached the door out to freedom Ved threw himself at her, taking her down with him to the floor. They both landed on the ground, groaning. Cloe felt a sharp pain in her ankle.

"What are you doing?!" Ved hissed, holding on to his grip on her.

"What does it look like, I'm trying to escape!" Cloe snarled. They suddenly heard voices in the hallway. Ved looked up, alarmed. Cloe could hear that his breathing became quicker.

"Get up, get up!" he said urgetly, quickly picking himself up from the ground.

"I can't. My foot," Cloe groaned, clutching her ankle. Ved bent down and then pulled Cloe up. They both turned to look when the voices got nearer.

"Help!" Cloe started to yell but her words were muffled when Ved put his hand over her mouth. He forced her back down the hallway and into his room, struggling. Once back in his room, he shoved her harshly onto the bed, grabbing the card from her hand before quickly striding over to the door and locking it. He then spun around to glare at her.

"That was a stupid thing to do! You really thought you could get away?" he said angrily, "If they find you here they will kill you! And me!"

He walked over to the door and pressed his ear against it to listen. Cloe sat up in bed and watched him varily. After a few minutes someone knocked at the door. Ved turned to Cloe whispered hoarshly, "Hide! And keep your mouth shut!" Cloe didn't move. She was too scared. Ved turned back to the door and said through the closed door, "I'm busy!"

"Open the door Ved - Rams orders," someone on the other side said. Ved sprinted across the room, grabbed the blanket from the couch and ran swiftly to the bed. He shoved Cloe down flat on the bed and threw the blanket over her to hide her.

"Don't make a sound!" he hissed, then went back to the door. A small opening in the blanket let Cloe see just enough to see Ved take a deep breath before opening the door slightly. There were two guards outside it.

"We heard voices just before. Strange voices. You haven't heard something, have you? Coming from this hallway," one of the guards asked.

"No," Ved said curtly.

"Do you mind if we inspect your room?"

Cloe could see Ved's back stiffen, "As I said - I'm busy."

"It'll only take a minute. Step aside."

"I'm working on Ram's special program. What do you think he would say if he knew that you two are hindering my work?" Ved hissed. The guards looked scared.

"That's right," Ved said, giving them his special glare, "He'll delete you both. Now get!"

The two guards hurried down the hallway and disappeared round a corner. Ved closed the door and turned around. Cloe had come out from under the blanket. He eyed her with a gloomy expression. He then walked over to his drawer and found a bracelet from it. He crossed the room with four long steps and grapped Cloe's wrist, roughly. He put the bracelet on it, looking her in the eye all the while, his expression dark.

"You give me no choice," he said, letting her arm go. Cloe said nothing, but just watched him as he crossed the room and disappeared out of the door without another word.


	11. Chapter 11

11

Once again Ebony was led through the long corridors of sterile white walls. It was only illuminated by long, industrial-looking fluorescence lamps, hanging on the walls between the doors. Ebony couldn't help but to be impressed at how this tribe had managed to reintroduce electricity. They had lived without it for so long now, but Ebony clearly remembered the old days, when the adults had lived and the convenience of power, running water and - probably the thing Ebony missed the most - tv.

At last they walked down a long staircase and in through a huge solid-looking iron door and further down into a sort of basement. It was cold and moist but surprisingly clean.

There were cells at the far end, built from iron fences from floor to ceiling - it looked like the kind that you usually used for dogs.

It was primitively stocked; a shabby-looking bed stood in the cornor, there was a small table with a chair and a huge porcelain pitcher and bowl and at the other side was a wooden screen which covered a night pot. Ebnoy refused to think about that one too much.

Smith opened the cell door and shoved Ebony rougly inside. He looked like he enjoyed this very much, because there was a sneer on his face. Ebony wanted to punch it right off of him so badly.

"I told you you'd regret this," he said, grinning evily while closing the door with a loud _clank_.

Ebony just scowled at him. She was silently planning how to hurt him severely if she ever got out. This comforted her a bit.

Once Smith had locked the cell securely and had retreated out the door (grinning victoriously all the way), Ebony went to the bed and lay down on it - It was hard as stone and lumpy in places, but it didn't concern her too much right now - she didn't plan on staying here for very long. One way or another she was going to get out. She always did.

After a few hours the door suddenly opened and Jay walked in. He was carrying a computer bag which he put down on a table. Ebony got off the bed and went to stand by the bars as Jay approached her.

"I'm sorry about all this," Jay said quietly, "Smith can be...hotheaded sometimes."

Ebony snorted and said with contempt, "I've noticed - and I've got marks to prove it." She looked down at her upper arm where red marks was showing from where Smith's fingers had pug into it - some of them were already turning purple.

"His actions will not go unpunished - I promise," Jay said with a grave face. Ebony got the feeling that this Jay was a man of his word and strangely she trusted him.

"Our leader - Lord Ram - wants to speak with you," he then said and turned around. He walked to the table where he had put the computer bag and unzipped it. He took out a laptop, opened it and turned it on. He then took the laptop in his arms and walked back to Ebony with it.

"He couldn't be here tonight, so you have to talk to him through this." Jay held up the laptop so it was level with Ebony's face and pushed the enter button. Immediately an image of a man appeared on the screen.

"Ebony," Ram said and smiled warmly. Ebony realised that he could see her too and that they could talk to each other live.

"Lord Ram, I assume?" Ebony said, in a nonchalant, uninterested tone. A mindtrick of hers.

"The one and only," Ram said and puffed out his chest proudly, "I am so pleased to meet you - although, I admit, not under the best of circumstances. I hear you are walking around attacking my men." His face fell into a mock pout, "That's not very nice of you."

"That's a funny remark, coming from _you_," Ebony said firely, "As you are the ones attacking _my_ men and _my_ city."

Ram seemed to overhear this comment completely, "However," he continued undeterred, "it has come to my ear that you are the city leader, yes?"

"That's right," Ebony said, crossing her arms, "Is this how you usually treat City-leaders?"

"Only the violent ones," Ram said, smilling broadly, "With that said, I do not wish to quarrel with one as important as a city leader. It is in my biggest interest to collaborate with you in making this city a greater place to live in."

"Well I can't be of much use sitting down here in this cell, can I?" Ebony said, raising her eyebrows at him.

"That is true," Ram said slowly, with a serious face, "Nevertheless, bad behaviour must be punished. Let it be an example to the rest of your people not to harm my men or prevent them from doing their work. I think I'll keep you down there for a while, to prove my point."

When Ebony glared at him, furious, he added quickly, "Just a few days, so that you can calm down your...feisty temper."

The screen went black as Ram cut the connection. Jay closed the laptop and put it back in the bag without a word.

"I can't believe this!" Ebony fumed, angry at the thought of being down here for days.

"You got off easy," Jay said quietly, turning back to her, "It could have been a lot worse – trust me."

"Does he really think this will foster my cooperation?"

"I don't really think he's worrying too much about that, unfortunatelly."

"What do you mean?" Ebony snapped.

"I mean, I don't think you have much of a choise here. Ram gets what Ram wants. And he's not taking anyones oppinion into concideration."

"I can't believe you people!" Ebony said with disgust and turned her back on Jay. She couldn't stand to look at him right now. This was all so unbelievingly frustrating!

"You'll change your mind about us," Jay said, "When you see that all we do is for the benefit of the people."

Ebony spun around with an enraged expression, "You tell that to all the people who are missing their loved ones! The ones you have taken!"

"I promise you, they're safe," Jay said patiently. He seemed a bit bothered by her anger Ebony noticed and was glad. She could use this for her benefit. She walked to the bars and stood as closely to them as she could, holding on to them with her hands. She put as much comtempt into her expression as she could and said coldly, "Well, your promise doesn't mean much to me, Jay."

She watched with satisfaction as Jay's face fell and went dark. He didn't reply but just turned around and left the basement, the door closing behind him with an eckoing slam.


	12. Chapter 12

12

Cloe was doing some sit-ups on the floor. It was making her sweat and her ankle ached, but it destracted her thoughts - which was nice as they were bugging her. Ved hadn't returned last night and she herself hadn't gotten much sleep. Her failed attempt to flee had shaken her and now she didn't know what to do or what would happen to her.

She got up from the floor when she heard the door open and saw Ved come in. He walked in without a word and without looking at her. Cloe dried her sweaty neck with a towel, while watching him walk to the bed. He plumped down on it and began taking off his boots. Then he leaned back on the bed and closed his eyes.

Cloe waited. He had to say something to her eventually. After waiting for some time – patiently, if she should say so herself - she couldn't take his silence anymore.

"How long are you gonna sulk?" she asked, putting her arms on her hips. Ved's eyes flew open and he jerked upright.

"Do you think this is a joke?" he snarled at her. Cloe was taken aback by his tone, but shoved the feeling of hurt aside.

"If they had caught you, you sure wouldn't be laughing," he said, shaking his head at her.

"Did you really think it was that easy, kidnapping me and holding me prisioner here?" Cloe shot back. Anger was flaring inside her, "Without me trying to fight back? Do you really think that little of me?"

Ved didn't answer but just closed his eyes and fell back on the bed again. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed frustrated. There was an eardeafening silence for a long while with Ved lying on the bed, eyes closed, and Cloe was seated on a chair.

"I did expect it actually," Ved said eventually, in a quiet voice. He opened his eyes and turned over to the side to look at Cloe, "I just wasn't prepared for it."

"Well that was kind of the idea," Cloe said, rolling her eyes.

"Too bad for you you weren't quick enough," Ved said and then looked down at her ankle, "How's your foot?"

"What do you care?" Cloe snapped. She was feeling more and more angry with him for some reason she couldn't explain.

Ved's face went cold, "You're right, I don't."

He turned to his other side, his back on her and didn't say another word. Cloe glared angrily at his back and then got up. She hobbled into the bathroom and closed the door, a bit more roughly than she intented and turned on the shower. She stripped down with shaking hands and got under the steaming hot shower, first then letting the silent tears fall.

She was just so angry. Angry at herself for failing to escape and go warn the others about Ebony's capture. How on earth would she manage to help Ebony now? If they wasted her and Cloe hadn't been able to stop it... It was just so frustratingly horrible! And she was angry at Ved. For taking her freedom from her and making her stay locked in his room all day for no possible reason!

She had been weeping for some time and only stopped when the water turned cold and she had to turn it off. She felt a little bit better now that she had cried some of her frustrations out.

When she came back out Ved was watching a movie from his bed. Cloe hobbled over to the couch and sat down inspecting her sore ankle. It was increasingly swelling, almost to the double in size and was turning deep purple - even black in some places.

Ved got off the bed and walked over to her. He kneeled down to look at her ankle.

"It doesn't look too good," he said, lightly running his fingers over her colouring skin, "Is it sore?"

"Yes," Cloe said, shuddering slightly from his touch, "It hurts when I walk."

"May I?" Ved asked with surprising gentleness, looking up at her and gesturing towards her foot. Cloe nodded. Ved carefully lifted her food a bit to take a closer look. He put one hand under her foot and the other on her calf. Then he carefully pressed them towards each other, "Does this hurt?"

"Not too bad," Cloe said. Ved pressed against her ankle from different sides, each time asking her if it hurt.

"I don't think it's broken," he said at last, "Maybe just a sprain."

Cloe looked down at him with a small frown, "How do you know all this? What to look for?"

"Experience," he said with a small smile, "I've sprained my ankle a couple of times. From all the parachuting. The landing can be a little rough sometimes."

Cloe's mouth dropped, "Do _you_ parachute?"

"Yeah."

"What's that like?" Cloe asked excited, all anger evaporated. She herself was afraid of hights, but it must be such a thrilling experience if you weren't.

"I can't even begin to descibe the feeling," Ved said, excited himself, "Letting yourself drop into thin air... it's mindblowing."

He smiled to himself at the mere thought for a few secounds. Then he looked back at Cloe's ankle and frowned, "Sit here, while I go and get something to aid your foot." He got up and left the room.

Cloe sat in silence, imagining what it would be like to stand on a plane, looking down at the earth, so many miles beneath you and then to just simply... fling yourself out into nothingness. She shuddered.

After a while Ved returned with a first aid kit and a pack of frosen peas. He put the first aid kit and the peas down at the floor and kneeled again. From the first aid kit he found a bandage, which he carefully wound around her foot - from the toes and all the way up to her mid-calf. It supported her ankle, letting it get some rest. The frosen pack of peas was for the swelling. He wrapped it into a dishtowel and pressed it lightly against her bandaged ankle, holding it there.

"I'm sorry about this," he suddenly said, nodding towards her ankle, "For hurting you. I didn't mean to."

"I know," Cloe said softly. She wasn't going to apologize for trying to escape. It was only to be expected, she thought. But she felt he somehow deserved an explanation.

"I had to try and warn them - my tribe. About what had happened to Ebony," she said. Ved looked up at her, puzzled. Cloe sighed.

"That woman I heard earlier," she said quietly, "The one we talked about. I know her. She's from my tribe. You said they might kill her. And I couldn't just sit here and do nothing." She stared Ved intensely in the eye, "I _had_ to try."

Ved sat silent for a while, with a slight frown, like he was thinking things over. Then he said, "I get that."

There was another silence - then, "I'll see what I can find out about her." He averted his eyes, "But that's all I can do. I don't have any say in the matter of prisoners."

"Except the unofficial ones," Cloe said, with a small smile, trying to lighten the mood.

Ved grinned and agreed, "Except the unofficial ones."

Ved went out to see what he could find out about Ebony and Cloe waited for him rather anxiously. She almost couldn't take the waiting any longer when he finally came back with news.

"She's down in the cells," he informed Cloe, "Ram's keeping her there for a few days as punishment."

"And after that?" Cloe wanted to know.

"I dunno. That's all I could get from Jay. But I don't think Ram's gonna hurt her. Apparently she's important to the program - or something." He shrugged.

Cloe sighed with relief. As long as Ebony wasn't going to be killed, it was okay. She would survive a few days locked up. It wouldn't be the first time Ebony had been locked up - she had before, when she had been held prisoner in a cage at the Mall - and it probably wouldn't be the last.


	13. Chapter 13

13

_Okay_, Ebony thought, _This might not be exactly what I had planned, but it worked out alright. _

She was lying on the bed, arms behind her head, looking up at the ceiling. This wasn't the most comfortable stay, but at least she was in. Now she could begin her work. She was going to try and get a meeting with this Ram - a real meeting, face to face. That way she could better work her charm on him, wiggle her way up to the top somehow. She was very good at that and she knew it.

And then there was this Jay-guy. He seemed symphatic enough. She would certainly take advantage of that. She could work with this weakness of his – the symphathy - and get him over to their side.

She sat up with a jolt as the door suddenly burst open and four men tumbled in. At first Ebony couldn't see what was going on, but suddenly recognised the red jacket among the black suits.

It was Slade.

He was battling three techno guards, throwing in punches and kickboxing the other men like a pro. He ducked as red lazers flew over his head, knocking one guard off his feet with a kick of his boot. There was a nasty loud thud as the guard's head hit the ground and went still.

Slade flew towards another guard, punching him in the stomach, causing him to bent over, then flooring him with a well-placed blow on the back.

"Slade!" Ebony cried out, "What are you doing here?"

"Rescuring you, obviously," Slade said with a grin, raising his elbow and jerking it backwards to hit a guard, that had popped up behind him, in the face. The guard blacked out on the floor.

Slade went to Ebony and looked down at her, "You okay?"

Ebony looked at the three guards on the ground, all knocked unconscious and was severely impressed by his fighting skills.

"Of couse I am, you idiot," she said, looking him in the eye, "This was all part of my plan." _More or less._

Slade looked perplex - and a little hurt. "So...you don't need any rescuring?"

"No I don't," Ebony said, proudly, "They're not going to hurt me. Only keep me down here for a few more days, and then I'm out. Their leader - Ram - wants to cooperate with me - this is the perfect opportunity to infiltrate them and work against them from the inside."

"Well, that would have been nice to know," Slade then said with a grin and suddenly didn't seem to mind that all of his hard work had been in vein.

"Next time, I'll send a carrier pigeon," Ebony said, sarcastically. Slade then surprised her by sliding his hand through the bars and lightly touching her cheek. He looked down at her with gentle eyes and said softly, "Let's not hope there'll be a next time."

There was a sudden sound as one of the floored guards started moving slightly. Slade looked back in alarm.

"Get out of here," Ebony said urgently, "Before they wake up."

Slade turned back to her, "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"Yes of course," Ebony said quickly, anxious for him to get out before he too got caught – then added more softly, "I'll be fine."

Slade nodded, "Alright."

He then grabbed her hand and pulled it to his mouth, kissing it quickly - and flashed her a dashing smile, "Until next time, madame..."

Then he darted through the room and up the stairs. Ebony listened to his steps as they faded away, hoping not to hear any turmoil.

Without thinking of it, she raised her hand to her cheek, where Slade had caressed it. It burned hot from his touch.

And a wry smile broke out on her face.

—

"Ved!" Cloe moaned and closed the magazine she had been reading, "I'm so bored! You _have_ to give me something to do."

Ved was sitting by the computer, looking very concentrated.

"I've given you magazines," he said vagely, not moving his eyes from the screen. Cloe gritted her teeth frustrated and got up from the bed.

"All of which I've read a hundred times by now."

Ved sighed, annoyed at being interrupted, and spun round his desk chair to look at her.

"Okay. Is there anything you're good at?" he asked, then raised an eyebrow, "Besides complaining..."

Cloe rolled her eyes at him and shrugged.

"Well, there might be something you can do for me," Ved then said, "You any good with computers?"

Cloe bit down on her lip and then admitted, "I don't really know anything about computers."

"You don't say," Ved said lazily, one brow raised - then, "Doesn't really matter. C'mon, I'll show you."

He got up from the chair and gestured for Cloe to sit.

Cloe sighed. This was not what she had had in mind, but at least it was something to do. So she sat down and stared at the computer screen. There was nothing but numbers on it. Endless of pages with just numbers.

"It's easy," Ved said, bending down next to Cloe from behind - so close to her head that Cloe stiffened. She could feel warmth radiating from his skin. And god he smelled so good!

"Are you listening?"

Cloe woke up from her thoughts at once, "What?"

Ved sighed annoyed, "I said, when you see this number, just change it to the number on this paper." He put down a note with a number on the desk, "Easy."

"Okay," Cloe said and she began the work. Ved dissapeared and only returned after a few hours. Cloe's head was feeling heavy from looking at a computer screen all day. She rubbed her eyes and yawned as Ved walked in.

"You finished?" he asked, walking over to her and looked at her work.

"Almost," Cloe said with another yawn.

Ved sat down on the bed, "I've got you this," he said and held up a plastic card.

Cloe gawked at it. It looked like the one Ved used for opening doors. Ved smiled at her dumbfound expression.

"It'll allow you to walk around this building freely," he said, "But it won't work on the doors to the outside. I can't have you fleeing - I'm not done with you yet. " He grinned evilly.

"Besides, that bracelet of yours will remind you not to if you try."

Cloe was too ecstatic to be bothered by this. It meant she was going to get out of this room. It really was beginning to drive her crazy. And this was the perfect oppotunity to snoop around and try to gather some useful information about this tribe.

"What about the other Technoes?" Cloe then asked, varily, "Won't they mind? I mean, you said they might kill me if they saw me here."

"As long as you say that you're one of the new recrutes, you'll be fine," Ved said casually, "There arrived some yesterday. Just try and blend in."

Cloe got up from the chair and walked over to the bed. She reached out after the card, but Ved moved it just out of reach. His face got serious and he looked her right in the eye.

"Just as long as you don't try and escape again," he said darkly, "And keep your mouth shut about me bringing you here."

"I promise," Cloe said just as seriously, returning his gaze.

Ved slowly handed her the card, while eyeing her, making sure his words had sunk in, "I trust you," he then said and Cloe felt a pang of guilt in her stomach. He really shouldn't. She was going to betray his trust by plotting to overthrow the Technoes.

Cloe took the card and stuffed it in her pocket. It was late now, and she was tired, but tomorrow - tomorrow she would go and explore this building.


	14. Chapter 14

14

The next morning Ved sat Cloe down and explained about the basic workings of the Technoes. He told her where she was allowed to go in the building and which areas were restricted (Cloe payed special attention to this part).

She was amazed to find out that they had a fully functionel kitchen and a gym. She had gotten used to there being electricity and running water but it still felt unreal to her every time she saw a door swing open automatically or the lights turn on and off. She imagined opening the fridge and see cold milk and fresh meat. It was almost like back in the old days before the virus.

The first few days she just wandered around quietly, trying not to attract too much attention to herself. The first encounter with a Techno, that wasn't Ved, had been nervewrecking. She still wasn't sure what would happen. She had just stared down into the ground, ducking her head as she passed the techno in the hallway. Nothing bad had happened though and eventually she felt more and more confident and ventured further and further away from the safety of Ved's room.

Everyday she had to do some kind of work on the computers. It was easy enough - level 1 stuff as Ved called it - and it made the days go by faster. At the end of the day she was absolutely exhausted and flopped down on her couch bed and immediately fell asleep - sometimes with all of her clothes still on.

Now that she was "officially a techno" she was eventually given her own room, right next to Veds. It was almost identical to Ved's, except it was not as 'luxurious' as his - there was no computer nor a tv. But it had all the necessities that a room should have; a comfy bed, a nightdesk, bathroom, drawers and a big armchair. Cloe was elated. Now she could sleep in a real bed and maybe get a little privacy.

After a few weeks Cloe knew most of the building. She hadn't explored the prohibited areas yet, nor did she know how to even get into them. She would just have to be a little patient and see if the oppotunity showed itself sometime.

It was around noon and Cloe went into the kitchen for a snack. She opened the fridge and rummaged around it for a while, taking out some fruits and various other food. She had passed out on the bed last night without getting something to eat so she was really hungry today.

"So _that's_ where all the food goes."

Cloe gasped with fright and spun around to see who was talking. She hadn't heard anyone come in. She stared into grey smiling eyes that looked awful familiar - like some long lost brother. Then she recognized him.

K.C.

It was no wonder why she hadn't recognized him immediately; his spikey green hair was gone, cut down to only a shadow on his head. There was a dark speckle around his chin, indicating he neaded to shave and the boyish roundness of it had vanished and become more square, showing the hint of a man. He had grown several inches since Cloe had last seen him, and had put on some muscle.

He was wearing the typical black Techno suit, with headset and stungun. The characteristic T-logo was printet on his forehead and two red C-marks flanked his cheeks. The same number as Ved, Cloe noticed. The number of marks indicated your rank and status. Jay, who was general, had three, indicating that he was the one in charge - next after Ram of course. The two that Ved had meant he was of lower rank than Jay (which Cloe knew bugged Ved immensly), but higher than most of the other Technoes, who only had one.

"Oh my god, K.C!" Cloe squealed and flew into a warm hug. He staggered at the impact and laughed at her eagerness.

"Whoa! It's nice to see you too, Clo." He held her out in an arms lenght and took a look at her, "Wow, you look great."

"You too! I'm so glad to see you," Cloe said and smiled brilliantly, "How did you end up here, anyway?"

"All by scheme, of course," K.C grinned and looked like his old self.

"Of course," Cloe laughed. She had after all known K.C for quite a few years and remembered how he always mananged to wiggle his way in or out of any situation - always to his benefit, of course. It was one of his greatest assets.

"I can't believe you're here," Cloe said, bringing him in for another hug. She couldn't even begin to explain how good it was to see a familiar face again.

"I thought I'd never see you again," she choked out and then pulled back, sniffling, "What happened to you?"

"I was taken away and put in the mines to showel coal," K.C said, leading Cloe to a long table with chairs all around it. He pulled out a chair for Cloe, before sitting down on one himself.

"I guess they need it to generate electricity," he continued, bending over and resting his elbows on his knees, "but me and some guys I met, we decided to form a resistance. I was sort of the leader. At first it was secret - we started working against them in small unnoticable ways. But eventually it grew bigger and bigger and more advanced. And finally one day we got too cocky and got ourselves caught. We all got seperated from each other and punished - severely."

He pulled up his shirt and revealed dozens of small criss-cross shaped scars. They looked like the aftermarks that lightning strikes left on the ground. Cloe bent down to look at them - horrified and facinated at the same time. What object could leave such terrible, yet beautiful marks? Then, with grim realisation, she understood.

Stunguns.

"They shot you?" she asked, appalled.

"Repeatedly," K.C said gloomily, "Everytime leaving one of these scars." He pulled his shirt back down.

"Wow K.C, I'm so sorry. That must have been excruciating."

K.C nodded darkly, "It felt like someone stabing you with a hot iron pole and then electricuting it."

Cloe felt sick to her stomach. That was just beyong horrific. In the back of her mind, she wondered if Ved knew about these things and was okay with it. He'd better not.

"Anyway," K.C went on in a more cheerful tone, "Apparently someone at the top thought highly of my 'energy' and decided to put it to better use. And here I am." He grinned, "Kinda foolish of them to trust me."

Cloe couldn't help but smile at the truth of that, "So what do they want you to do here?"

"I'm training new recruites - virts. I'm 'programming' them to be good fighters, a sort of Techno militia. But don't worry, I'm trying to make a new Resistance from the inside and I don't plan on sticking around for much longer."

Cloe pondered apon this for some time, then she asked, "Did you see any of the other Mallrats?"

"Yeah, yeah I did," he said eargerly, "At one point we were being shipped away. They put us into different cages on the beach. And I saw Alice! She was in another cage, but I could talk to her. She was kinda in bad shape. I suppose she put up a good fight." K.C laughed a little and Cloe smiled at the thought. That would be so like Alice, fighting them fiercely - giving them hell.

"I don't know where they took her. She was put on another ship. But she did say she saw Bray some time ago. She didn't know what happened to him though."

Cloe sighed and looked down. She could feel tears pressing behind her eyes. She missed everyone so much. Even Lex.

K.C felt her despair and put a hand on each of her shoulders. He brought his head down so their eyes were level, "We'll get them back," he said quietly, "I promise."

Cloe smiled weakly and sniffled. She wanted to believe that so much. She had to believe it. They had to come back.

"But what about you?" K.C asked, "Don't tell me you've gone all geeky-Jack-computer-lover on me and crossed over to the dark side." He gave a small laugh at the thought.

"God no! I'm still as technologically challenged as always," Cloe said, rolling her eyes at her own incompetence, "I was captured and held hostage."

K.C's face fell dark and he shook his head, "These people!" he said with disgust, "Who do they think they are? Taking people away from their homes and friends." He stared into space, silently damning the Technoes in his mind.

"And now?" he then asked after some time, looking back at Cloe.

"Now I'm pretending to be one of them, spying and trying to get as much information out of them as possible."

"Whoa Clo, that's really risky," K.C said with concern, looking like he didn't like the idea of Cloe getting herself hurt.

But Cloe just laughed, "So are what you are doing," she pointed out.

"I guess you're right," K.C said, thoughtfully, "Just be careful."

"I can take care of myself," Cloe said a bit coldy, felling somewhat hurt by his lack of confidence in her.

"I know you can, Clo," K.C said quickly, seeing her sullen face. He almost laughed at the sight, but kept a straight face. "I didn't mean it like that. I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I've changed, K.C - I'm not a scared little girl anymore."

"I know, I know," K.C said, "We've both changed. We had to grow up. All these enemy tribes made sure of that. Sometimes I wonder if it ever stops - some crazy tribe trying to take over world domination."

Cloe gave a small laugh, "Probably not." But then her face got serious again.

"We're gonna defeat them, somehow." There was resolution in her eyes, which was something new to K.C. She had come such a long way since before she was taken away by the chosen. Now, she had gumption.

"Well count me in," K.C said, inspired by her determination, "Let's kick their asses all the way back to hell."


	15. Chapter 15

15

Ebony was pacing back and forth in her cell, sighing frustrated. She had been here for almost two whole weekes - and way longer than Ram first had said. Slade's little stunt had prolonged her punishment. Not that she blamed Slade. It was a rather admirable gesture to try and save her. She wouldn't forget that. Nevertheless, Ram had decided that Ebony was to be held responseble for the episode and put on an extra few days to her stay.

She greethed her teeth from anger thinking of Ram. If he thought this was the way to get her cooperation he was soooo wrong. No one ever gotten away with messing with her patience.

She looked up when the door opened and Jay came in. She hadn't seen him since the first time she spoke with Ram through the computer and he'd left mutely. Now he was walking towards her with a stone face. Ebony put her face into the same dark expression to match his.

Jay unlocked the celldoor and opened it, "Your time is up," he said curtly. Ebony didn't know why he was so sullen, but frankly right now she didn't care.

"Ram's letting you go," Jay then said, moving aside to let Ebony out, "But," he said, grabbing her arm as she was passing him, making her stop, "He's expecting you to cooperate."

"Well his social skills are a little off," Ebony said, twisting her arm free from Jay's grip. She gave him a dirty look before walking away. Jay followed her mutely, unlocking doors with his card as they came along. When they finally reached the last door leading to the outside, Jay hesitated.

"Ebony," he said, taking hold of her arm again - this time very lightly, "I'm sorry about all of this."

Ebony looked at him in surprise, completely forgetting to look violated. Was that regret showing in his eyes?

"This is not how I wish to treat people," Jay said, quietly, "Ram can be...unpredictable sometimes."

Ebony sensed the tiniest doubt from Jay - doubt about some of the methodes Ram used and about Jay's role in the Techno tribe. This was good. This was something she could work with.

"It's okay," she said softly, "I know this was not on your orders."

Jay smiled slightly, looking at down Ebony. He was severel inches taller than her. Ebony returned the smile before turning around to leave.

"And Ebony," Jay said again and she turned back once more.

"Don't be a stranger."

—

Cloe was sitting in one of the many computerrooms, working on one of Ved's projects. Being here had learned her a thing or two about computers. Not enough to go and snoop around for any useful information on them - but enough to be able to help Ved out with some of his work. Give her some more time, she was sure she could soon start finding out some of the Technoes's secrets.

The door opened and K.C walked in.

"Oh hi K.C," Cloe said, smilling at him as he approached.

"Hi Clo, what's up?"

"Oh nothing much, I'm kinda bored," Cloe sighed, looking back at the computerscreen.

"Yeah I know," K.C said as he hopped up to sit on the desk, looking down at Cloe, "I'm waiting for the next batch of people to arrive. They should be here in a couple of days."

"Are you going to train them?" Cloe asked, looking at up him.

"Yeah, that's the idea," K.C replied. Then he lowered his voice and came close to Cloe, "Just not in the way the Technoes think." He winked and Cloe grinned.

"What's this!"

They both jumped and spun around to see Ved. He was eyeing them suspeciously from the doorway.

"Ved!" Cloe exclaimed a little shrilly. She wondered how long he had been standing there and if he had overheard their conversation.

Ved slowly walked over to them and glared at K.C who had jumped down from the desk and was standing stiffly. Ved was just a few inches taller than K.C, so he looked down at him, "Who's this?"

"This is K.C," Cloe said, nervously.

Veds eyes turned into thin slits, "Ah the mallrat," he said slowly, "The rebelious one."

K.C returned his glare, holding his head high, "That's right."

"I heard you put together quite a rebelion back there," Ved said, raising an eyebrow.

"I did," K.C said, trying not to sound too proud of it.

"So now they put you here - in the hart of the operation," Ved continued, still sounding suspecious, "That's kinda risky, wouldn't you say?"

"Not at all," K.C said casually, "I'm no threat - I've been programmed. I now see the bigger picture and the greater good of the course."

"We'll see about that," Ved said, not quite fooled by K.C's facade. He gave him one last glare before turning to Cloe, "How's the work going?"

"Good," Cloe said quickly, glad that Ved's attention was away from K.C, "I'm almost done."

"Let me see," Ved said, gesturing for her to move so he could take her place in the chair. Cloe did and went to stand next to K.C.

"I thought you'd be done with this part by now," Ved said, after spending a few minutes looking at her work.

"Maybe - " he said, looking up at her with a stone face, " - if you didn't spend so much time talking to your little friends," he gave K.C a dirty look, "you'd get things done on time."

Cloe stared at him for a few seconds, appalled by his rudeness. Actually she was ahead of scedule. But she just nodded with a sulky expression. She knew better than to argue with him in front of others.

"Now get back to work!" Ved barked and got up. Cloe sat back down in her chair without a word. She couldn't believe he was acting this way.

"And don't you have things to do?" Ved snapped at K.C, before stalking out of the room. Cloe looked up at K.C with a apologetic expression. She didn't know why she felt the need to apologize for Ved's behavior. But she felt she was responsible somehow.

"Wow," K.C said, both his eyebrows raised all the way up on his forehead, "What's his problem?"

"That's the one who captured me," Cloe said, hesitant. She didn't know if it was a good idea to tell K.C. He might get angry and do something rash that would get him into trouble.

"_He_ did this to you?" K.C said jumping up, pointing towards the door that Ved had just walked out of. His eyes almost bulged out.

"Yes."

Cloe filled him in on what exactly had happened, how Ved had picked her up outside and held her hostage in his room. When she had finished she looked nervously at K.C. He had a grim expression on his face.

"But it's alright, "Cloe then said hastily, "It was all my plan with Ebony to go spy on them. It just happened a little differently than we had planned."

She looked at K.C with worry when he didn't respond.

"K.C," she said a little louder to break through to him. K.C slowly turned his head to look at her, his face dark.

"Has he hurt you in _any_ way?" The icy tone in his voice send chills down Cloe's spine.

"No," she said quickly, although that was not entirely true and she could see that K.C knew that.

K.C silently stared into space for a while again. Cloe didn't like the frown that had formed on his forehead - it meant he was plotting something. Something that might get him into trouble.

"Nothing too bad," she then gave, "And I don't think he meant to." Except for the bracelet sending painful vibes through her wrist - but she felt is was best no to tell K.C about that.

"They are such creeps!" K.C growled, "I swear I'm gonna find a way to bring them down."

"And I'm gonna help you," Cloe said, "I'll work on Ved. I think I can get some more inside information out of him."

She hoped.


	16. Chapter 16

16

It was twilight when Ebony made her way through the mall entrance. She headed for the stairs leading up to the cafe where she could hear voices.

"Ebony!" Salene cried out as Ebony ascended the last few steps and walked over to them, "Where have you been? We've been so worried!"

Ebony raised an eyebrow at her, knowing that she and Salene wasn't the best of friends and that Ebony wouldn't be the top of Salene's worry-list.

"And Cloe," Salene said confirming Ebony's thoughts, "She's missing too."

"Don't worry, she's alright - she's doing a little job for me," Ebony said, waving her hand dismissively at her.

"What kind of job?" Amber, who just then came into the cafe carrying baby Bray, demanded.

Ebony turned to look at her, "That's classified information."

"Ebony I swear to god-" Amber began threathening, but Ebony cut her off.

"Look - just trust me on this one."

"Trust you?" Amber snorted, "Why should we?"

Ebony screwed up her eyes at her, "Because you don't have a choice." She'd been locked up for two whole weekes and wasn't in the mood for Amber's nagging. She just wanted to wash up a bit and then go to bed.

"Ebony, if anything has happened to Cloe..."

"I said she's fine!" Ebony snapped and glared at Amber.

"There's another thing," Amber said and her face fell slightly.

"What?" Ebony hissed.

"You didn't see Lex or Jack in there, did you?"

"Don't tell me they're missing too?"

"They haven't been back since they left to go and look for the others. That's days now."

Ebony sighed deeply. The Mallrats had been reduced to almost nothing these past few weeks - all thanks to Ram and his tribe. She was really starting to get angry.

"I'll go back and see if I can find out where they are," she said and Amber nodded.

"Is Slade here?" Ebony then asked.

"No, he went out a little while ago - I think he went to the bar to find out what happened to Cloe."

Ebony didn't bother replying, but just turned on her heel and sprang down the stairs.

Back at the hotel she did a quick wash up before heading down town. There was only one bar in the city so she headed that way and arrived within a few minutes. She walked into the bar and glanched around. Slade was nowhere to be seen, but now that she was there, she really could use a drink. It had been a long and strainful couple of weekes.

She went to the bar and sat down. Immediately there was a drink in front of her - free of charge. Being city leader had some advantages and getting stuff for free was definitely one of them. Ebony picked up the glass, sipped and felt the cool liquid tickle her tongue. She closed her eyes and exhaled out through her nose, just enjoying the taste and feeling her body starting to relax.

Then there was a sudden noise right next to her.

"They let you out and you hit the bottle first thing."

Ebony opened her eyes and looked over at them. It was Slade. He was sitting on the chair next to her, grinning. He looked really handsome, Ebnoy thought suddenly and blamed the alcohol.

"I was looking for you actually," she replied and then gestured to the bartender to bring Slade a drink.

"Is that right?" Slade said, smiling wryly, "And the first place you thought of looking was here - in a bar? Well that's offending."

"Is it?" Ebony said casually, "I found you here, didn't I?"

"Actually, it was me who found you here." Dimples appeared as he grinned down at her.

"I guess we found each other then," Ebony said and smiled back. She enjoyed their little playful banters.

Slade took a huge slurp of his drink, "I'm glad to see you out and in one piece, though."

"I could say the same to you," Ebony said, "That was quite a scene you made back there," she said referring to his attempted rescue and all the floored men he'd left behind.

"Yeah," Slade said, scratching his neck self-consciously, "I hope it didn't cause you too much trouble?"

"Nothing I couldn't handle. They just prolonged my stay."

"Well I'm sorry," Slade said, sounding sincere, "I wasn't aware of your plans. I thought you needed rescuing."

Ebony raised an eyebrow, "Obvoiusly you don't know me very well."

Slade flashed her a crooked smile, "Sadly no. But I'd certainly like to."

Ebony could feel her cheeks burn. Furious, she tried to hide it by turning away to take a huge sip of her drink. She wasn't used to blushing. Not many things - especially not guys - could make her blush. She hated blushing; it made her look weak and impressionable - two things she most definitely was not.

"But I promise not to ever try and rescue you again," Slade said, holding up his hands.

"Good," Ebony said,"Anyway, my plan worked - I'm in. I can now come and go as I please."

"Impressive," Slade said, "How did you manage that?"

"I talked to their leader. He's called Ram. And he knows I'm cityleader, so apparently he wants us to work together."

"Mmm figures."

"But it's good, it allows me to gather information - and work on Jay. He seems like someone I could win over."

"Poor guy," Slade laughed, and then saw her angry glare.

"I just mean he has no chance!" he said quickly and tried not to laugh at her angry expression.

"I guess we're done here," Ebony said coldly, emptying the last of her drink and then jumping down from the bar chair. She rushed into the crowd of danching people and out the door before Slade could respond.


	17. Chapter 17

17

Cloe was lying on her bed, resting on her elbows while reading a book that Ved had got her. She looked up when there was a knock at the door.

"Yes," she said, giving the person permission to come in. The door opened and K.C's smiling face appeared.

"Hi," she said and gave him a smile.

"Hey Clo," K.C said, standing in the doorway, "I was gonna go grab a bite. You wanna come?" He jerked his thump in the direction of the kitchen.

"Yeah, sure. Let me just read to the end of this page. Come in."

K.C came in and closed the door behind him. He walked around in her room, looking at her things while she read.

"Done," Cloe said after a while and closed the book with a snap. She put it on her nightstand and got up.

"Oh K.C, I totally forgot to tell you," she suddenly said, holding a hand to her forehead, "Ebony was here. They got her too."

"What!" K.C exclaimed, looking at her alarmed.

"But they set her free again," Cloe said quickly, "I think. That's what Ved told me anyway."

K.C sunk down at the bed beside her and looked at her darkly, "And you believe him?"

Cloe thought about this for a while, then simply said, "Yes." She couldn't explain why, but she trusted that Ved told her the truth. She could just feel it in her gut.

"He said she was important to the program somehow."

"Well," K.C then said after some thinking and a smile spread across his face, "If anyone can get themselves out of trouble - it's Ebony."

Cloe grinned back at him, "Exactly."

Just then there was a noise at the door as it opened and Ved walked in. He never bothered to knock or ask permission to enter - he simply just entered. He had a smile on his face, which vanished the moment he saw K.C. His face was hard and dark as he leaned his shoulder against the doorframe, arms crossed. His eyes went into their usual slits as he said, "Conspiring, are we?"

"What?" Cloe said, feeling panic in her stomach. Was he on to them?

"Two Mallrats, sticking their little heads together. It's not rocket science."

K.C rolled his eyes and got up, "Look, we were just talking. We're good friends - we go way back."

"Exactly my point."

"We're just hanging out - nothing sketchy about that," Cloe said.

"Well that's exactly the problem Cloe," Ved said, icily, "I thought I told you to finish that work I gave you. Ram's been on my back with those numbers for ages now, so will you just get on with it!"

"Alright!" Cloe snapped, "I'll get it done tomorrow - calm down."

Ved gave the both of them one final devastating glare, before turning on his heel and stalking out of the room.

"Why are he acting like this? He's such a jerk!" Cloe fumed a few moments later as she and K.C walked down the corridor towards the kitchen. She pushed the door open and walked inside. She headed towards the refrigerator and looked inside it, taking out various foods as KC found plates.

"I just don't get him sometimes," she continued as she handed K.C a bottle of water. K.C turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Do you _really_ not get it, Clo?"

Cloe looked up at him, surprised, "No, I really don't. Why? Do you?"

"Come on, you can't be that blind."

Cloe just looked perplex and K.C smiled and sighed, rolling his eyes at her, "He's jealous."

Cloe who was taking a big slurp of her water choked and began spluttering and coughing violently.

"What!" she choked out hoarsly.

"He likes you," K.C said simply.

Cloe gawked at him, her mouth open, "Have you lost your mind? We _hate_ each other!"

K.C smiled and shook his head at her dramatic reaction, "I don't know about you, but Ved _certainly_ doesn't hate you. And he feels threathened by me."

Cloe couldn't believe what she was hearing. Okay she didn't hate Ved all the time, but she just couldn't believe that Ved could like her in any way. If he did, he certainly had a funny way of showing it.

They ate in silence as Cloe tried to wrap her mind around this new unlikely information. After a while she glanced sideways at K.C.

"Does he have reason to be felling threathened by you?"

K.C smiled, "No. Sorry Clo, you're great and all, but I just don't have that kind of feelings for you. Maybe once. But that was a long time ago."

Cloe was relieved. She saw K.C as a kind of a brother and she didn't want anything to ruin thier friendship.

"How do you know? That he has...feelings...for me?" This was such a new and strange concept to her.

K.C finished his meal and put the plate in the dishwasher. "It's kinda obvious," he said, "You'd have to be pretty daft not to notice," he grinned at her and she threw her empty bottle at him, which he caught.

"You suck," she said, laughing.

"Come on, airhead," K.C said, "Let's get back."

They walked back to their rooms and bade each other goodnight. Cloe walked into her room and let herself fall down on her back onto the bed. She folded her hands on her stomach and stared at the ceiling, in deep thought. When she eventually went to bed it was a long time before she fell into a disturbed and restless sleep.

The next day Cloe didn't see Ved for the entire day. She finished the work like she had promised him and in the late afternoon turned off the computer and went to her room to rest. She hadn't really had time to think things from last night through as the work took all of her concentration. Now that she had finished, it left her plenty of time to dwell on things - especially the things K.C had said about Ved having feelings for her.

She lay down her her bed as she always did when she needed to think things over. After some time there was a knock at the door and Ved poked his head in, "Hey Clo."

Cloe sat up abruptly, all stiff, as he walked in. This new information was making her feel weird and uncomfortable and she didn't know quite how to handle it. Ved threw himself down onto the bed beside her, face down, groaning, "I'm totally wrecked."

After a few seconds he turned his head to look at her at the total lack of response, "Hey, Clo. Why are you ignoring me? What's up with you?" he demanded.

"Nothing," Cloe mumbled.

Ved got up on his elbows to glare at her, "You're mad at me," he said and then sighed, "What did I do this time?"

"Nothing," Cloe said, not looking at him, "I'm not mad."

"Well you're _something_," Ved said, screwing up his eyes suspeciously, "What is it? C'morn - spit it out."

"I said it's nothing," Cloe snapped. She didn't know why she has snapping at him, so she got up and walked towards the bathroom. She could feel his eyes on ther back like burning lasers. When she had closed the door behind her she let out the breath she'd been holding in. She put her hands on either side of the sink, dropping her head down between her shoulders and stood like this for some time. Then she turned the faucet on and splashed water into her hot face to cool it down.

What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she just play it cool? she thought, angry at herself. She brushed her teeth and changed into the t-shirt she was sleeping in. When she put her hand on the handle to open the door she hesitated. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to steady herself. Then she pushed it open and walked out.

Ved was lying at the same spot he had dropped down and had fallen asleep. His mouth was slightly open and he drooled at bit. Cloe sighed, relieved that he was asleep and then giggled soundlessly at his drooling face. She walked over to the bed and crept under the covers with some diffeculty, as Ved was lying across the bed. She didn't want to wake him up and make him leave her room. What if he insisted on staying to find out why she was acting weird, demanding to hear what she was thinking. She would be absolutely mortified if he knew what she and K.C had talked about, about him having feelings for her. What if it wasn't true? He would be laughing so hard at her that tears would fall down his cheeks. And she would be horrified.

She still wasn't completely convinced that what K.C had said last night was true. Was it really possible that Ved had developed some kind of feelings for her? He was always so mean to her and snappy. Sure she felt attracted to him, he was a very goodlooking guy, Cloe had to admit. She lay thinking about things for a while, until sleep eventually found her and took her to dreamland.


	18. Chapter 18

K.C looked up from his clipboard as three trucks came around the corner and stopped in the middle of the courtyard. Ecko jumped out of the first car and approached K.C.

"These ones are ready for you, Sergeant," he said, gesturing towards the back of the truck.

"Excelent," K.C said, walking over to the first truck, "Let them out one by one."

He took position at the back and watched as Ecko opened the back doors and looked inside. He closed it slightly and leaned in towards K.C.

"Watch out for this first one," he said under his breath, "She may seem tiny and delicate, but she's feisty - trust me." He held up his arm to show a set of teeth marks.

"Damn," K.C said with a small laugh and rubbed the back of his neck. He was kind of impressed - and a little scared, "Better keep a safe distance, eh?"

"I would say at least 10 feet. Keep your cool, man," Ecko said with a grave face and opened the doors again, ordering the people to come out, one by one and in good order. K.C felt intrigued by this apparent would-be Amazone and waited with excitement.

A girl stuck her head out. Her hair was golden brown and long - all the way down to her waist. It was tangled from struggle and looked like it hadn't seen a hairbrush for some time. She was still pretty, K.C thought as he watched her jump down from the truck. Ecko grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side, putting her as the first in a line.

"Get off!" she snarled, pulling her arm from his grip rather aggressively. Ecko turned to K.C, lifting both his eyebrows and then shaking his head. K.C had to suppress a giggle. He looked at the girl and found her staring at him, her mouth slightly open in shocked realisation. He looked her in the eye and then felt a shock go through him as he recognized those eyes. He couldn't believe he hadn't see it before.

Patsy.

His head jerked to look at Ecko. He had his back turned on them, helping the next person down from the truck. K.C looked back at Patsy and saw that her buttom lip quivered and angry tears spilled over and ran down her cheeks. He knew she felt betrayed, thinking that he had joined the enemy. Well he sort of had, but not by choise. Afterall, this was better than the alternative; being wasted for leading a resistance group.

He looked at her, fearing she would yell at him and quicky put a finger to his lips, hushing her silently, with pleading eyes. But she wouldn't have any of it.

"K.C!" she cried, her tone thick with accuse. "I can't believe you went over to their side - not you!"

K.C winced at the angry tone in her voice and he looked away from her big hurt hazel eyes, staring at him with angry tears. He couldn't tell her about his and Cloe's plan to overthrow the Technoes. Not with Ecko standing so near. He had to play along until he could talk to her, freely, without prying ears.

"Quiet!" he barked at her. Ecko whirled around to glare at Patsy. He strode over to her and put his face all the way down to hers, "I've just about had it with you!" he yelled into her face, "Shut up! Or I'll shut it up for you!"

Patsy glared back at him but went silent. K.C thanked the heavens in his mind. He knew Ecko - both the good man that he was; a rightous man of his word, but also the dark Ecko; the man who was exstremely loyal to his master and dedicated to the course. That Ecko didn't have any mercy.

"Do you know this one?" he asked, turning to K.C with a scowl.

"Not directly," K.C lied. He had to pull out his best lying abilities, something that wasn't unfarmiliar to him. He'd always schemed his way through life. That's just how he survived.

"I know her from the city, but not personally," he said with a poker face.

Ecko glanched at Patsy, "I don't know if she's more trouble than she's worth," he said. K.C's heart started to pound with fear. He had to think fast before Ecko decided that she was too much of a handful.

"Purhaps," K.C said with forced indifference, "I like her spirits though. She'd be a great worrior. If I can break her first. I'd like to try."

"Really?" Ecko said, sceptically. He clearly couldn't see the appeal in such a difficult task.

"You know me, E, I always love a challenge," K.C said, winking at him. "In fact, I think I'll start right now. Do you mind unloading the rest of the virts and show them to the cells?"

"It's your funeral," Ecko mumbled and then nodded, "Alright, I'll take care of the rest."

"Perfect," K.C said and hurried over to Patsy. He didn't stop when he reached her, just grabbed her upper arm when he passed her and dragged her along. It had to look convincing.

She didn't protest as he took her inside and lead her down the hallway and into his room. The second he closed the door behind them Patsy exploded.

"Unbelieveble!" she cried, "I knew you were sly, K.C, but I've never known you to be a traitor!" Her hands were clenched into fists down her sides and her cheeks shone with fresh tears of anger.

She stiffened in surprise as K.C threw his arms around her and held her tight, burying his head in her hair.

"I can't believe it's you," he choked out, "I thought you were dead."

Patsy's tense body relaxed a bit and she padded him awkwardly on the back, "It's okay K.C. It's really me."

After a while K.C released his hug and stepped back, looking at her. His eyes were glossy.

"What happened to you? We all thought the Chosen had killed you."

"They almost did," Patsy said softly, "But Danni rescued me. She died saving my life." Her voice broke a bit in the end and she swallowed hard.

"Oh god, Pats, I'm so sorry," K.C said, taking her hands and holding them. Patsy looked at him, perplexed, and K.C realised that she must be surprised to see this softer side of him. Back in the days when they had all lived at the mall together, K.C wasn't exactly known to be a softie. He'd been just a kid – a selfish brat, always looking for a new scheme.

But being in the mines had done something to him. He'd grown so much since he last had seen Patsy – not only in height, but in character as well. He'd become softer, less selfish and more of a man. He wondered if he looked as different to her as she did to him.

"What are you doing, K.C?" Patsy asked, interrupting his thoughts, "- with these creeps."

"I know what it looks like," K.C said quietly, "but it's not as it seems."

He told her the whole story; right from what had happened with the Chosen, then about the Technoes coming to the mall and taking some of them, including himself, away. He told her about the resistance group, the afterwards punishment and then coming here. And of his meeting with Cloe. When he finished, Patsy had sunk to the bed, trying to take it all in.

"I can't believe all that's happened," she said quietly, "Poor Dal."

They sat in silence for a long while, letting everything slowly sink in.

"I can't believe how much you've changed, Pats," K.C then said, smiling at her.

"You too K.C. You've grown! And got a beard," she grinned and scratched his unshaved chin playfully.

"Yeah, guess I need to shave," K.C said with an embarrassed smile and looked down.

"No, don't," Patsy said, "It suits you."

K.C sent her a crooked smile and flushed.

Patsy suddenly moaned and ran a hand through her tangled hair, "God, I need to wash. I must look awful."

"They have showers here - real showers with running water! You can use mine, if you like," K.C said. "I'll see if I can find you some clean clothes and stuff." He got up in a rush, but then stopped and turned to look down at her, "I'm so glad you're alive," he said softly.

Patsy smiled back up at him, taking his hand and squeezing it, "Me too, K.C."

He then turned around and walked out of the door, feeling strangely lightheaded.

—

Patsy stepped out of the shower, feeling more warm and clean than she had for a long time. She dried herself and went to stand before the mirror. She picked up the hairbrush that K.C had provided for her and ran it through her hair. It was easy to brush as she had used considerably amounts of conditioner to be able to get all the tangles out. Now it was smooth and clean and smelled deliciously of apple flowers.

She glanced sullenly at the black folded suit K.C had laid out for her, and she pushed it further away with a snort. It didn't feel right, putting it on. She felt like a traitor. And she would rather die than betray her friends, she thought dramatically. But eventuelly she picked it up with a sigh and put it on. It was, after all, just a pretend and she intended on not wearing it for too long. And she couldn't run around naked.

There was a small knock at the door and K.C's muffled voice.

"Patsy, there's someone to see you."

Patsy knew who it was and flung the door open. She squealed loudly and threw her arms around Cloe, crying, "Oh my god, oh my god! Cloeee!"

"Oh Patsy!" Cloe cried and held her dearest friend tightly, "I thought I was never gonna see you again!"

"I know, me too," Patsy said. They stood there for a while, just hugging each other, reunited sisters. When they finally broke apart they both had tears of joyish reunion streaming down their cheeks.

"We all thought you got wasted by the Chosen," Cloe said with a sniffle, "They told us you were dead."

"I know," Patsy said and then told Cloe the same story she had told K.C.

"Why is there always some stupid tribe trying to take over the city?" Cloe said, looking to the heavens, "I'm so sick of it. Why can't we just live in peace?"

"I dunno," Patsy said with a sigh, "I guess it's always gonna be that way. There'll _always_ be someone who wishes to rule the world."

"Yeah well, we're gonna be here to fight them every godanm time," K.C said with a clenched fist, "Like we always do."

The two girls nodded in agreement. The Mallrats had always won and they would this time too - they were sure of it. They just had to figure out how and when. That was what they were here to figure out.

They used the rest of the afternoon brainstorming and working on their plan. Eventually Cloe bade the other two goodnight and went to her own room. Patsy and K.C were sitting on the bed, just talking.

"God, I'm so tired," Patsy said at last and yawned.

"Right," K.C said, "I guess it's been an eventful day for you." He smiled at her, "Tomorrow I'll see if I can get you a room. You can have the bed tonight - I'll take the couch."

"Thanks K.C," Patsy said and laid down immediately. K.C covered her up with the blanket before he went to get the lights. Then he walked over to the couch and laid down on it. There was a quilt hanging over the armrest which he pulled over himself.

"Goodnight, Patsy," he said into the dark. The only respons he got was a soft moan and then the deep, heavy breathing of sleep.


	19. Chapter 19

19

Ebony felt so much better now that she had washed her hair and slept in her own bed. The Techno B&B certainly didn't get a 5 star rating in her book; she had gotten a soar throat from the cold and damp cellar, not to mention the company she had kept in form of mice and various crawling creatures. Good thing she wasn't a delicate person.

She applied one last layer of red, bright lipstick and looked at herself in the mirror. If she was going to win Jay over to their side, it couldn't hurt to look her best. Guys always seemed to like her looks - an attribute that had come in handy many times in the past.

Now she was ready to go back to the Technos; firstly to find out what had happened to Lex and Jack, but also to begin her work on Jay. She misted a little perfume on her wrists before getting up and grabbing her jacket. She set out on the streets alone and walked the long way to the Techno Headquarters. This time she headed straight for the main entrance. The two guards stading there gave her cross looks as she walked in without a word but with hammering heart, which she hid behind a look of haughty disdain.

Once she was inside she faltered; she didn't know where to go. She had only been in here once and it had been under stressing circumstances. She looked around and saw endless rows of identical doors and hallways. It would be very easy to get lost, she thought, but then decided that she had to start somewhere and took the first hallway to the right. She passed what seemed hundreds of doors in her search for someone who could lead her to Jay. Rounding a corner she almost ran into a Techno, who came from the other direction.

"Watch it!" she hissed automatically, stumbling back before turning to glare at the Techno. Then her eyes widened, "Oh my God - Cloe!"

"Ebony!" Cloe exclaimed, "What are you doing here?"

"Never mind that - are you okay?" Ebony said and looked Cloe up and down, "You seem okay."

"I'm fine," Cloe said and then lowered her voice to barely a whisper, "I did it, Ebony - I'm in. I'm spying on them."

Ebony nodded approvingly, "Good, good. Did you find out anything useful?"

"No, not yet. But I'm working on it," Cloe said and then looked around as to see if there was anyone listening.

"It's not safe to talk here," she said, "The walls have ears. Come on."

She led Ebony down the hallway and into her room.

"This is more safe," she said when she had closed the door securely behind them. Ebony looked around in room, impressed.

"You can say much about these creeps, but they do bring some level of comfort with electricity," Ebony said and then peeked into the bathroom, " - and running water."

"I know, they're not all bad," Cloe agreed and thought of the long warm baths she took every morning, "Except for the kidnapping and all."

"Speaking of," Ebony said and turned back to Cloe, "Lex and Jack went looking for the others, but never returned and now they're missing. Have you seen them around here?"

Cloe sunk down onto her bed with a dark expression, "No, I'm sorry. I haven't seen them." Then her face brightened up suddenly, "But guess who's here - you'll never believe it!"

Ebony's heart started to race, "What? Who?" She prayed it was Bray.

"K.C! He's really here. And Patsy! She didn't die!"

Ebony's heart sunk all the way down to the pit of her stomach. Sure she was glad to hear that K.C and Patsy were okay, but she had hoped to hear something from Bray - anything that indicated that he was alive.

"That's great," she managed to say and make it sound like she was thrilled, "Are they kept hostages?"

"No, they've joined the Technoes like me," Cloe said and made air quotes when saying the words 'joined the Technoes' to indicate that they were still very much Mallrats. She grinned at Ebony.

"Well, I guess the more the merrier," Ebony said and smiled back, "Just be careful."

"We will. But what about you?"

"I'm looking for Jay - have you seen him?"

"Yeah I saw him about an hour ago - down in the workout room," Cloe said, "I think he's still down there. Do you want me to take you there?"

"Yeah, that would be great, actually."

"Follow me."

Cloe led Ebony down the hallway and further downstairs to the gym. Right outside the door, before they entered, Ebony stopped Cloe, "I have to speak to him alone," she said, looking at Cloe, "And it's probably not a good idea for him to see us together. He needs to think you've abandoned your old tribe."

Cloe nodded, "Yeah you're probably right. The gym's right through here - I'll just go back."

Ebony nodded and then surprised Cloe by putting a hand on her shoulder, "Take care of yourself, Clo."

"You too, Ebony." And then she turned around and dissappeared back up the stairs. Ebony turned back to the door and took a deep breath before she turned the handle and pushed the door open a crack. She peeked in and saw Jay by the weight trainer. He was laying on it and lifting a barbell up and down. Ebony slid in unnoticed and looked around the gym. No one else was there, so they were all alone – perfect!

She walked over to him and leaned against a concrete pillar, arms crossed and a wry smile on her face. He was wearing only sweats and nothing else, she noticed with great pleasure. She had to admit - it wasn't the most awful thing she had laid eyes apon today.

"Very nice," she said and watched with satisfaction as Jay jumped slightly at the sudden noice and then put the barbell back in its holders. He sat up and looked at her in surprise, "Ebony."

"Please don't stop on my account," Ebony said and flashed him her most flirtatious smile.

"To what do I owe this pleasure?" Jay asked and grabbed a towel which he used to dry off sweat from his face and neck.

"Just a friendly visit," Ebony said casually.

Jay laughed sceptically, "Why do I doubt that?" he said and grinned at her. He got off the trainer and grabbed a bottle of water. He screwed off the lid and took a huge swallow.

"Okay you got me," Ebony said, "I'm here on official matters as well."

"I thought so," Jay said and smiled, "What can I do for you?"

"Well I thought that you might have some answers."

"To...?"

"To where someone might be."

"Your friends?"

"Not exactly. Just some people I know."

Jay nodded and put on a t-shirt (much to Ebony's regret).

"Let me just take a shower - then I'll see if I can answer your questions. Meet me outside the main entrance in half an hour. We'll go somewhere... less crowded."

"Perfect," Ebony said and smiled at him. Then she turned around and walked out of the gym and upstairs, while Jay hit the showers.

Once outside Ebony started to wait for Jay to appear. She was leaning her back against a tree, arms crossed as she glowered at the two Technos guarding the doors. They did their outmost to mutely match her scowl, but no one could quite master a glare as well as Ebony.

Half an hour later, Jay had washed and put on his usual black Techno suit. He smiled at Ebony as he walked out of the main entrance, "You ready?"

"Absolutely," Ebony said and smiled back.

"Is there somewhere we can go and talk more privately?" Jay asked and glanced back at the guards.

"There's a bar downtown?" Ebony suggested and wondered briefly if it was too bald to ask Jay to go to a bar. But if she was lucky, she could get some drinks in him, then maybe he'd be more talkative and not so stiff.

Jay looked slightly uncomfortable, but agreed to go. They arrived 10 minutes later and walked into the not so crowded bar. The few people who were in there glanced disapprovingly at them, but dared not protest. Ebony knew that they weren't too happy about seeing a Techno there, but she sent them all a stern look, to keep them quiet. They reluctantly obeyed.

They found a small table in the corner and took seats. Ebony went to the bar to get two drinks, without asking Jay if he wanted one. She hoped he wound be too polite to decline. He seemed like a very polite person, considering...

"Isn't it a little early for drinking?" Jay asked her with a glint in the eye, when she came back with the drinks and sat back down.

"It's never too early for a drink," Ebony said cheekily with a shrug of the shoulders, "Besides it's after noon."

She handed Jay one of the drinks and smiled. He took it reluctantly, but didn't decline, just as Ebony had hoped. No need to tell him that she had asked the bar tender to put slightly more alcohol in Jay's drink than her own.

"So, you had some questions for me," Jay said and took a tiny sip of his drink.

"Yes," Ebony said, "It's about some of my people. They've gone missing."

"And you want to know if we had something to do with that," Jay said and looked at Ebony with somewhat penetrating eyes. She had to look away from his stare.

"Well you did take a lot of the city's population," Ebony stated, forcing herself to look back up at Jay through her lashes, "It's not a totally unreasonable accusation."

Jay didn't answer right away, but took another sip of his drink and shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He looked like he was thinking about something for a while. His expression was rather dark, Ebony noticed. She too took a sip of her own drink and let the man think.

"What are the names of these persons?" Jay asked after some time.

"Their names are Jack and Lex. The first one is kinda geeky with red hair. The other looks like an idiot," Ebony said and Jay laughed.

"He has black hair and is wearing a constant smirk," Ebony then said.

Jay had a frown on his forehead, "Doesn't sound like someone I've seen. But maybe they got...picked up...by some of my men. I can check the database when I get back."

"That would be great," Ebony said and smiled.

Jay looked around in the bar, "This is quite an impressive place. This city is doing great compared to some of the other cities we've been to."

"They must have an extremely talented city leader," Ebony said and flashed him a cheeky smile. Jay laughed a little and agreed, "They must indeed."

"Have you've been to many other cities?" Ebony then asked as casually as she could.

"A few," came the short reply and Ebony knew she would have to take tiny steps when working with Jay. He wasn't an idiot.

"Seriously though, you've done a great job as a city leader," he then said, "There's been very little resistance to the program."

"I said I'd cooperate, didn't I?"

"You did. I'm very...greatful."

Ebony flashed him her best smile and raised her glass, "My pleasure."

They touched glasses and took sips.

"So, are you allowed to tell me more about this program of yours?" Ebony asked. Jay hesitated slightly while examening Ebony. She knew he was debating whether to trust her or not.

"It's okay if you can't," she said, innocently, "I mean, I understand you have certain orders from Ram - I was just curious."

She glanced at him and knew she had hit a nerve, because his lips went into a straight line and his eyes went dark.

"It doesn't work like that," he said through slightly clenched teeth, "I'm not Ram's puppet."

"Of course not!" Ebony said quickly, "That's not what I meant. I know you have your own free will."

Jay's face softened a bit and he took another sip of his drink - this one a little bigger than the others.

"I know Ram's the founder of the Technos, but I didn't join to answer to Ram's every demand. I joined because I saw a good cause and thought I could make a difference in this world. We have the means to radically improve the lives of the people. Built schools for the kids, hospitals for the sick, reinstall electricity and running water..."

By now Ebony just sat quietly and let him talk.

"…But those things need hard work. It doesn't come by itself," he continued, passion clear in his voice, "We need people to do labour work. We need engineers and architects, doctors and teachers. We look for those in every new city we visit. We have to built this world from anew."

Ebony was now spellbound by his speech. He was right, of course, the world needed all of those things. She just wasn't sure she agreed with the approach of things; the kidnapping of people and the splitting of tribes and families.

"But wouldn't it be better to just ask people?" Ebony asked, "Instead of kidnapping them and forcing them to do things they don't want to."

Out of the corner of her eye Ebony noticed a familiar red jacket. She glanced to the far corner of the bar and saw Slade take a seat. Their eyes met for a split second.

"I know some of Ram's methodes can be...controversiel," Jay said, pulling her back from her distraction, "But when you look at the bigger picture, I guess sometimes they are necessary." He didn't sound all that convinced himself.

"But there have to be better ways to do this," Ebony pressed on, looking intensely at Jay, "Without the force and the seperations of families."

"We need people in the mines to generate power," Jay said, "Without that, there's no electricity. If we don't force these things, we would never evolve as a human race. Is that what you want?"

"Of course not. I just think there's gotta be a better way. If we stick our heads together, I know we can think of something," Ebony said and then suddenly put her hand over Jays on the table,"Please Jay, we need you on our side." She took a huge risk here and she knew it.

Jay looked down at their hands, but apparently decided that it was no harm, because he didn't move it out from underneath Ebony's. Because of this she now shifted tactics.

"But this town needs hospitals and schools," he said, not moving his eyes from Ebony's hand, so warm and soft on his.

"If we can remove Ram, you can take over the whole Techno show. Then you can get your hospitals and schools without Ram deciding the speed and without his nonsense."

Jay glanced at Ebony through his eyelashes, giving him a look of dangerous darkness. His voice was cool and ominous, "You're treading on dangerous grounds. I could have you removed for saying that."

He slit his hand out from under Ebony's and looked away. Ebony knew she'd pushed him far enough for one day and decided it was better to stop here and work on him another day.

"Just think about what I've said," she said calmly.

Jay then suddenly got up, "I've got to go," he muttered curtly and glanced quickly down at Ebony, "I'll see if I can look up your people on my computer." And with that he left without another word.

Ebony sat back and thought their whole conversation through. All in all she thought it had went well. Talking with Jay today had confirmed the suspicion she'd had about a hesitation in him. She knew he doubted some things about his role in the Technos. She just needed to dig them out a little and then Jay's conscience and sense of justice would do the rest.

"Well that was interesting," someone next to her suddenly said. Ebony looked up and saw that Slade had taken Jay's seat. She had been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she hadn't head him approaching.

"What?" she asked.

"To see the way you work," Slade replied. His face was uncharacteristically gloom and without it's normal smiling eyes.

"And what was so interesting about that?" Ebony said, intentionally bringing some coldness to her own voice.

"Just the intensity of your methodes," Slade said and leaned closer to Ebony, "And the flirting."

"But you knew about all that - we already discussed my methodes," Ebony said, feeling confused about his behavior.

"Yeah well, I guess I wasn't prepared at how it's affecting me," Slade said and leaned back in his chair, watching Ebony with eyes that glinted with some unknown emotion.

"Well then may I suggest; next time - don't watch," Ebony shot back. This was ridiculous! Why he had suddenly developed some kind of guilty conscience or empathy towards Jay was a complete mystery to her. He'd known about her plan for a long time. And it wasn't like she had done anything completely indecent - it was just innocent flirting.

"What was it I did that was so awful?" she then asked, wondering silently why she cared so much.

"It was the holding hands - and the looking deep into each others eyes," Slade said and looked like someone who wondered why it was so difficult for her to figure out, "I didn't like that one bit."

He stared at her with a meaningful glance and suddenly it all downed on her. She didn't know why she hadn't seen it before. It was all very clear now.

He fancied her.

Ebony sat for a while, just letting it sink in. It all made sense now. Sure she had noticed his cheeky charm and the mild flirtation from his side, but she'd just thought that that was just how he was - a part of his charming persona. She hadn't thought it was all for her benefit.

Now for the first time ever, Ebony was speechless. She had no idea how to respond. And it frustrated her. This was certainly not the first time that some guy fancied her. She'd had guys falling head over heels for her since before the virus. But there was something different this time. Slade was different.

"Well that's too bad," Ebony managed to say at last, though it was not as cool-sounding as she wanted it to.

"I guess it is," Slade said, still looking at her with a penetrating stare. He then got up and for the second time that afternoon, Ebony was left alone in a bar.


	20. Chapter 20

20

The next morning K.C woke up with a start. He had been dreaming something disturbing, but he couldn't quite recall what as he lay for a few minutes to recover. He turned his head to look at the bed and saw Patsy's sleeping frame. She looked peaceful.

He got up, trying to make as little noise as possible and went into the bathroom, carefully closing the door after him. He turned on the shower and got under the steaming hot water. He stood there long enough to let the warmth of the water loosen some of the knots in his back. Then he turned it off, stepped out and grabbed a towel. When he had dried himself he used it to wipe over the fogged mirror and then let it fall to the ground to stand on.

He was brushing his teeth when the door suddenly opened behind him and Patsy appeared. He frose as he realised that he was completely naked. Patsy's eyes widened in shock when she noticed him.

"Oh god K.C - I'm so sorry!" she cried out, covered her eyes and turned around immediately, "I thought you had already left."

"It's okay," K.C said, rather flustered, quickly picking up the towel from the ground and wrapping it around his waist.

"It's my fault - I forgot to lock the door. I don't usually have to. I'm sorry." He knotted the towel tightly at the side, so it wouldn't suddenly just fall off his hips, "There."

Patsy slowly turned around, like she was afraid of what to see. Her cheeks burned bright red.

"Don't worry about it," K.C said as he studied her embarrassed expression, "Down in the mines, there weren't much privacy, so I'm kinda immune." He was mortified, of course, as this was a completely different situation, but he said it just to relieve some of the embarrassement. Patsy just smiled nervously.

"I'm done in a minute, then you can have the bathroom," he told her and smiled back.

"Right," Patsy then said, seeming to snap out of it. She turned on her heel and walked out, closing the door behind her.

A few minutes later, K.C walked out of the bathroom - this time fully dressed in sweatpants and a T-shirt - and let Patsy have it. She didn't take long and soon came out again.

"Okay," K.C said, if we're gonna do this and convince the Technoes that you're one of us, we have to do this the right way. I told Ecko I would try and train you to become a warrior. It was just to get you out of there, but I don't think it's such a bad idea, actually."

Patsy looked worried, "But K.C, I can't fight. I don't know how to."

"I know," K.C said, "But don't worry, I'm gonna teach you. I'm a Sergeant here, remember? It's my job."

"But what if I'm not any good at it?"

"From what I've heard, you've got talent," K.C said with a grin as he remembered the teeth marks on Ecko's arm and his scared expression, "I promise I'll teach you how to. I'll give you private lessions."

"Okay," Patsy said, still not sounding quite convinced, "When do we start?"

"We can start right now," K.C said, "I have some free time before I have to go and take a look at the other arrivals. I've got you some training clothes." He pulled out a bag from under his bed and emptied it on the covers. There were sweatpants and a t-shirt identical to the ones he was wearing and sneakers.

"Here, put this on," he said and handed dem to Patsy. She went back into the bathroom to change and came back out a few minutes later.

"Good, now come with me."

K.C led Patsy down the long corridor. They walked down to the basement floor, past a lot of doors, all the way to the end. There was a huge room, holding severel workout machines, barbells and a punchbag. There was no one there, so they had it all to themselves.

"Okay," K.C said, turning to face Patsy, "The first thing I'm gonna teach you is self-defense. It's probably the most important thing to know when fighting. If you can't get yourself out of bad positions, you lose."

Patsy nodded, feeling slightly nervous. She wasn't some big warrior woman. She was just Patsy. And she used to be a scared little thing.

K.C pulled off his t-shirt to be able to move more freely. Patsy gulped. This morning when she had accidently walked in on him naked in the bathroom, she had been mortified at the awkwardness that followed. However, she couldn't help but scan his body swiftly. When he had wrapped the towel around his waist and stood there bare-chested her eyes seemed to have a mind of their own and they refused to look away, even when she demanded them to.

K.C's body had seemed to stretch severel inches in the last couple of years since she had last seen him. He had lost a lot of weight, due to his time in the mines and put on some muscle. A lot of muscle, Patsy's dully mind reminded her before she could stop it.

It was strange to see him this way. He had always been just K.C - a kid. Of course she had been a kid herself, but now they had both grown up, lost the childish features and become almost - well grownups.

Now she saw him in a different way - a way she hadn't seen him before. She no longer saw him as a boy – she saw him as a man.

"First I'll show you what to do if someone grabs your arm," K.C said, pulling her out of her thoughts, "Here take hold of my wrist like you would if you grabbed someone."

Patsy did as she was told.

"Now, I'll take my left hand and put it over your hand that's grabbing me - then I'll twist my other arm around to grab your wrist and then push you down to the ground, okay?"

Patsy nodded and got ready. K.C swung his arm around, grabbed her wrist and then gently pushed her down towards the ground, "And now I'm free from the grib, see?"

Patsy's heart was slightly racing as she nodded.

"Now I'll try to grab you and you do what I just did, alright?"

"Okay," Patsy said. K.C grabbed her arm and Patsy did what he had taught her. They did this a few times until Patsy did it with confidense.

"Good," K.C said, "Now I'm gonna show you what to do if someone grabs you from behind." He turned his back on her, "Try and grab me."

Patsy walked over to him, laid her arms around his neck and next thing she knew, she was on the floor, swift but very gently. K.C reached out a hand to pull her up, "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Patsy muttered.

"Let's try again a little slower. Put your hands around me again. Good. Now I'll grab your hands with my own, and pull them down slightly, to free my neck, like this. Then I'm gonna squad down a bit, put my legs behind yours and just push you legs out from under you - like this." He grabbed the back of her knees with his hands and picked her up slightly, then put her carefully onto the ground, "Easy."

He helped her on her feet again, "Now you try. Turned around."

Patsy turned around and waited. K.C walked up to her and put both his arms loosely around her neck. This immediately sent Patsy's heart racing and she tried to control her breathing which had became qiucker.

It wasn't fear or nervousness that made her heart pound - it was the fact that K.C had his warm, strong arms around her and was standing so close. He had his head right next to hers. She was glad he couldn't see her face and hoped he couldn't feel her pounding heart.

"And then, uhm," K.C said, faltering. He swallowed and cleared his throat, "Then, eh, then you grab my arms with both of your hands."

Patsy lifted her hands and grabbed his wrists.

"Now pull my arms down a bit, squad and move your body behind mine and push my legs out from under me."

Patsy did as she was told. K.C went down a lot less gently than she had. He landed on the ground with a groan.

"Oh god, I'm sorry!" she cried and kneeled down beside him. K.C got up on his elbows and laughed.

"Don't be, that was exellent!" he said impressed and got up, "Again."

They repeated the exercise until Patsy mastered it perfectly. She was a lot stronger than she'd thought and was a quick learner. K.C showed her how to stand when someone came at you (one foot slightly in front of the other, arms up to defend) and how to grab them and throw them off balance (one hand behind their neck, the other on their arm for total control).

They practised for a couple of hours until K.C had to go and take care of the new arrivals. He encouraged Patsy to stay and practise with herself and maybe work out. Patsy practised all day, only stopping to get a granola bar that K.C had got her.

She was sitting down on a footstool, eating and drinking some water. She was drying sweat off her forehead when the door suddenly opened and Cloe walked in.

"Hi Pats," she said and walked over to Patsy. She was wearing training clothes too. "K.C said you might be down here. I thought I'd come work out with you."

"Great," Patsy said and smiled, "We've got a lot of catching up to do."

They worked out (or mostly talked) the rest of the afternoon. Eventually Patsy had to stop.

"I'm totally knackered," she said to Cloe, "I think I'll go take a shower and then rest for a bit."

"Okay," Cloe said, "I'll just continue here a little bit longer. I'll see you later."

"See ya," Patsy said and disappeared out of the door to go rest in K.C's room.

—

Twenty minutes later K.C walked into the gym, "Hey Clo. Where's Patsy?"

"You just missed her. She's showering," Cloe said, getting down from the treadmill.

"Oh," K.C said, "So how is she?"

"She's okay, I think," Cloe said, "It just takes some adjustment, being here. But I guess you know."

"Yeah," K.C said, "You done here?"

"Yes. You wanna go get something to eat from the kitchen and bring it to your room? I bet Patsy's starving."

They walked out of the training room and headed for the kitchens. They found some carrots and fruits, a coulpe of canned sausages and some bread. They packed it all in a bag and then grabbed three bottles of water. Just as they were about to leave the kitchen Ved walked in.

He looked at them scornfully and snorted, "That's a lot of food for two little people," he said with a glower.

Cloe could feel anger burning in her stomach. He had been acting like a total jerk these last couple of days.

"We're really hungry," she said sarcastically and rolled her eyes.

"Where are you taking all that food?" Ved asked suspiciously, ignoring her.

"We're taking it to K.C's room to eat," Cloe said coldly and walked around him to head for the door. Ved grabbed her arm as she passed him - not tightly, just enough to hold her back, "I don't think so."

K.C reacted on this immediately, "Look, man, what's your problem?" he said loudly, taking a step closer to Ved. He'd had enough.

Ved turned to glare at K.C, "My problem, _man_, is that I don't trust you." He too took a step closer and was standing close enough to K.C to be considered rude and possibly threathening.

"Why not?" K.C demanded.

"You're a virt."

"So is Cloe."

"I know," Ved said and looked at Cloe with disgust, "What makes you think I trust her?"

"Hey!" Cloe said, kind of hurt that he didn't trust her - though he was sort of right not to.

"Well you did try to escape. That makes you kinda untrustworthy, don't you think?"

"We already talked about this," Cloe said. She knew at that moment that she had to do something to regain his trust.

"And I _definitely_ don't trust _you_," Ved said, ignoring her again and turned back to K.C.

"Well you're alone on that," K.C said confidently, "Apparently someone at the top seems to trust me. Otherwise I wouldn't be here."

Ved snorted scornfully, "I bet it's that brother of mine - he's such a softie! Always wants to see the best in people, the trusting fool." He said this like he thought this was Jay's biggest weakness.

"Well I'm here now, so you'll just have to get used to that, 'cause I'm planning on sticking around," K.C said, stepping even closer to Ved, "Whether you like it or not."

Ved's jaw thightened and his eyes flashed a warning, "We'll see about that."

"Yes we will."

They were standing so close their noses were almost touching. Both were glaring at the other with all the menace they could muster.

"Look, you really don't wanna mess with me," Ved said threateningly.

K.C moved his head, if possible, even closer, "What if I do?"

Cloe didn't like the scenario playing infront of her. It reminded her of two aggrevated stags in mating season. She rolled her eyes at them, "Guys common - stop it."

Neither of them seemed to hear her - or they were ignoring her, because they didn't give her one glance or reacted to her words.

"Alright," Ved said to K.C, "have it your way. Tomorrow at noon. You and me in the courtyard - no stunguns."

Cloe's eyes flew open in disbelief. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, "Oh common!"

"You're on," K.C said to Ved, "Let's settle this."

"This is completely idiotic!" Cloe fumed, looking from one to the other.

Ved and K.C just glared at each other for a few more seconds, then Ved turned around and walked out of the kitchen.

"God! What is wrong with him!" Cloe exploded as soon as the door had closed behind him, "I can't believe this!"

"Well I did kinda provoke him," K.C said, not sounding too guilty about it, "So I guess it's sorta my fault."

"He started it," Cloe said, refusing to let Ved off the hook that easily.

"And tomorrow we end it," K.C said and shrugged. Cloe turned to look at him with concern.

"Is there really no other way? I don't like this at all. You could get really hurt."

"Now you're kinda hurting my pride," K.C said with a laugh, "This is what I do now. I'll be in my element. It's really Ved you should be worried about."

Cloe just snorted and rolled her eyes. Truth was she was worried about the both of them. She didn't want to see either of them get hurt.

"Look, it'll be alright," K.C said apon sensing her worry, "No stunguns remember? It'll just be a good oldfashion fight-of-the-fists. Nothing too serious."

Cloe decided to let it go for the time being. Tomorrow she would seek out Ved at try to talk him out of it. Right now, she just wanted to get back to K.C's room and get something to eat and then crawl to bed.


	21. Chapter 21

21

The next day Ved was preparing himself for the fight by jump roping. He wasn't too worried about the fight. He may be a computer genius but he also knew how to fight - something he had picked up in the streets long before the virus.

Ved didn't really know what was to come out of this fight - he just knew that it was something necessary and that it was vital that he won.

He suddenly saw Cloe approach him out of the corner of his eye. He knew she wasn't happy about this and would try and talk him out of it. Well she wasn't going to succeed, he told himself as she got nearer. This had to happen, it had been a long time coming. Ved sped up his rope jumping when she reached him.

"Ved please don't do this," she pleaded, standing in front of him, "You could seriously hurt each other."

"Butt out, Cloe," Ved said curtly, "This has nothing to do with you."

Of course it had everything to do with her. Although Ved would never admit it to anyone, his brain turned into a jealous growling beast every time he saw Cloe and that _bastard_ together - and he just couldn't tame it.

"Oh this is just so _stupid_!" Cloe cried out, "Why are you acting like cavemen?"

"He asked for it," came the short reply.

Cloe groaned frustrated and threw her hands up in the air, "Unbelieveble!" She spun around and stalked away, muttering under her breath.

Ved couldn't care too much about it at the moment. His focus was on K.C and the battle ahead. He couldn't affort to worry about Cloe's feelings right now. He had to keep his head in the game or else he'd lose - and that would be diseasterous!

—

Patsy stood biting her fingernails absensely as she watched K.C prepare for the fight. Last night when she had heard about the confrontation and the accepted challenge she couldn't believe what she was hearing. She and Cloe had used the majority of the night trying to convince K.C to drop out of it, but no matter what arguments they used he just wouldn't budge. He said this was something that had to be done and that they wouldn't understand. He also told them not to worry and eventually they both gave up.

This morning, after Cloe had talked to Ved, she came back and simply refused to participate in any of it and had walked into her room, glooming. But Patsy just couldn't sit and wait around for news. She would simply go mad. So she went with K.C to watch the fight with trembling hands.

It was a bright sunny day and the birds were twittering joyfully in the trees nearby. There was a few Technos standing in the courtyard, minding their own business. They didn't seem to take much notice of the three of them.

Ved was standing in the other end of the courtyard. He walked back and forth, swinging his arms to warm up. He had brought his buddy Tyler with him – he would also work as a sort of referee.

"What time is it?" K.C asked, walking over to Patsy. She looked at a digital watch that they had brought from K.C's room.

"It's almost noon."

K.C glanced at Ved at the other end, "I guess it's time then." He turned back to Patsy and let out a deep breath.

"Wish me luck." He didn't wait for her "good luck", but turned around and started walking towards the center of the courtyard, leaving Patsy at the brink of hysteria.

—

K.C walked with determenation towards his opponent. If he stopped now and looked back at Patsy, he might abandon this whole mission. Not because he was scared, but because of Patsy. He hated seing her this worried. Last night, when she and Cloe had tried their best to talk him out of it, and Patsy had looked at him with those big pleading hazel eyes, he almost had. He'd had to look away.

At the other end Ved started walking towards the middle as well. They reached each other right in the middle where they stopped and stared at each other with solemn expressions.

"Ready?" Ved asked coldy.

"Absolutely," K.C replied with a small nod. Tyler walked over to them and stood beside them.

"Okay," he said, "The rules are; you fight with only your fists - no blows below the belt. The first one who stays down on the ground for ten seconds or more loses, understood?" He looked from one to the other and they both nodded. Tyler walked a few steps backwards, "Ready? Go!"

Both Ved and K.C started circling each other slowly, sizing each other. They held up their fits, ready to either strike out or block a blow.

Ved was the first one to attack. He suddenly flew forward, aiming a blow at K.C's face. K.C ducked at the last minute and swerved past him, quickly straigtening up and turned back towards Ved.

Ved almost immediate came at him again, this time surprising K.C with his swiftness. Ved managed to place a fist right on K.C's chin. The blow almost knocked K.C off his feet, but he managed to keep his balance. A sharp pain throbbed in his jaw and he clenched his teeth with fury. Adrenaline started to pump in his veins as he looked up at Ved. Now that he had figured out Ved's fighting style he could start to use the right techniques that he knew would work against Ved. The biggest challenge was Ved's quickness. He would have to watch out for that.

K.C prepared himself as he watched Ved leap forward again, knowing he would try and throw in a punch at his head. K.C ducked a few seconds earlier than before, avoiding Ved's fist by inches, then quickly jammed his own fist into Ved's abdomen. Ved doubled over with a groan and stumbled forward. He straightened up again with a gasp, then turned back around. His face was wrenched in a furious grimasse.

This time it was K.C who attacked first. He stepped towards Ved and threw a punch at his face. Ved blocked it with his arm, as K.C knew he would and instead slammed his other fist into Ved's rips. There was a roar of pain and then of shear animal-like rage as Ved instantly took revenge and placed a forceful uppercut to K.C's unexpecting chin. K.C stumbled backwards from the powerful blow and fell to the ground. Something had broken inside his mouth cause he could taste the metallic flavour of blood. He got up with some difficulty and spat out a mouthful of it.

_Dammit_! he thought. He really was going to have to watch these quick unexpected attacks. Maybe he hadn't figured Ved out intirely after all. He would have to outsmart him.

K.C knew that it bothered Ved when he talked to Cloe. Although both he himself and Cloe knew they were just friends, K.C knew that Ved didn't and that this was really the reason for this fight. On one hand, he admired the intense feelings that Ved must have for Cloe, if this was what they had elicited. On the other hand, he did admit that he had kind of caused this and that it wasn't fair to provoke Ved this way. He was just such a jerk and K.C had to put himself in respect somehow. Maybe that would change his attitude. That and a long deep talk about his non-romantic relationship with Cloe. But that would have to wait until afterwards. Right now they were fighting in the old fashion, dating back to Ancient Greece, testosterone-filled way.

They continued for a while, each taking turns in throwing out punches, sometimes knocking the other to the ground. Neither had stayed down for 10 seconds yet, but had scrambled back on to their feet, each time with more difficulty.

After 20 minutes they were both pretty beaten up. Ved's lip was cut, colouring his teeth red and a nasty purple colour was beginning to appear around his left eye.

K.C's eyebrow had split open, sending down a stream of blood on the side of his head. Blood was oozing from his nose too.

K.C had to admit that he had underestimated Ved. He was quicker and more unpredictable than he had thought at first. It was difficult for him to read Ved and wasn't able to predict his next moves. Now they were both panting from strain and pain, taking a few seconds to breathe while eying each other.

"Had enough?" K.C asked with heavy breathing, bending over slightly and putting his hands on his knees.

"Not even close," Ved breathed, although he looked like someone who was more than close to have had enough. K.C made up a new plan in his head, now that he had a little time to breathe and think.

"You know," he said, looking up at Ved, "We never did agree on a prize for the winner."

"True," Ved muttered.

"What do ya think? Whoever wins gets to take Cloe home." He was provoking Ved, wanting him to attack in rage. Those attacks were often reckless and brashed and that would give K.C a benefit.

He was pleased to see Ved's head snap up - but it was only a fraction of a second before Ved composed himself and put on a cold and indifferent expression. It was only because K.C _knew_ that Ved had feelings for Cloe that he noticed.

"No thanks. You can have her as an consolation prize," Ved said, trying to sound scornful, but K.C could hear the slight tremble in his voice.

"I might do that," K.C said, "Maybe I'll take her home to tent to my wounded body." He watched with satisfaction as Ved clenched his fists down his sides.

" - have her patch me up real nice..." he continued. Now Ved's hands were trembling too.

" - make her kiss all the sore places..."

This triggered the beast in Ved. No longer able to control his searing jealousy, Ved leaped at K.C, hitting with so much force that they both flew to the ground. K.C's head hit the ground with a nasty sound. It felt like his skull had cracked open, but as he put his hand to the back of his head there was no blood. It hurt like the deep core of hell though.

K.C hadn't expected this kind of shear hatred that was radiating from Ved now. He had swiftly climbed on top of K.C, unleashing a cascade of punches at K.C's head. They seemed to come from a thousand angles, hitting K.C with new and mindblowing force. KC was helpless on the ground, trying to shield his head with his arms.

"What the HELL is going on here!" Someone suddenly roared from behind, causing Ved to stop his furious attacks as he looked up, panting.

K.C turned his head too, with some difficulty, to see Jay come stalking across the courtyard. He looked absolutely murderous.

"Stop this instantly!" Jay bellowed, his voice thick with authority. When he reached them he grabbed Ved's arm and hauled him off of K.C.

"Have you completely lost your mind!" Jay yelled right into Ved's face. Ved yanked his arm free from his brother's grasp. Something was off about Jay today. He was particulary enraged. He didn't usually lose his cool like this.

Ved didn't answer Jay but just gazed down at K.C with cold eyes, "Guess I won," he said, before he turned around and walked away. K.C got up on his elbows. His head was throbbing insanely.

"What's going on here?" Jay asked K.C, a little more composed this time.

"It's okay, I deserved it," K.C said hoarsly. He had gone too far in his desire to win the fight. It was playing dirty.

"I can't have my men fighting amongst themselves," Jay said, looking down at K.C, "That could really destroy the cause."

"I know, sir, it won't happen again," K.C said, barely listening. He had difficulty thinking straight through the pain.

"It had better not," Jay said and then kneeled down beside K.C, "Don't make me regret recruting you." He gave him one last strict gaze, before he got up again. Patsy was rushing towards them, horror clear in her face.

"Oh my god, K.C are you okay?" she asked when she reached them and flew down beside KC.

"I'm fine," K.C said, getting to his feet with some difficulty. He reached out for Patsy for support and she wrapped an arm around him, holding him up.

"I see you are in good hands," Jay said, looking at K.C, who nodded. Jay shot a baleful glare in Ved's direction, then sighed frustrated and walked away, murmuring under his breath, "_Idiotic fools!_"

"Are you badly hurt?" Patsy asked as they made their way across the courtyard. KC was lumping badly while holding on to Patsy for support.

"Mostly my pride," he said, and Patsy gave a small, shaky laugh. K.C was glad that Patsy wasn't a mindreader. Truth was, he was in a lot of pain and he felt dizzy. But he felt no desire worrying Patsy with it. Surely, it would be better in a little while - he just needed rest. Patsy helped him inside and all the way into his room and on to his bed.

"You just rest now," she said and pulled his boots off carefully, then tucked him in under the covers.

"I'll go get something to clean up these wounds," she said, her voice quivering slightly. As she turned to leave, K.C reached out and grapped her hand. She turned back, surprised.

"Thank you," he said simply, looking up at her, greatful. He had no idea how he would ever have managed to get inside to his room, if she hadn't been there to help him.

"Of course," she said, rather flustered over his intense stare. Then she squeezed his hand softly, turned around and left to find a first aid kit.


	22. Chapter 22

22

Cloe looked up as Ved barged into her room, as he always did - like he owned it or something. He walked over to the bed were Cloe was lying reading a magazine.

"Well, aren't you gonna ask who won?" he asked triumfically. He looked immensly pleased with himself which bugged Cloe hugely.

"Why?" she said indifferently, looking down and turning a page in her magazine, "It has nothing to do with me," she said, quoting his own words.

Ved rolled his eyes at her and walked into the bathroom. He groaned with pain as he carefully took off his shirt and studied his bruises in the mirror.

Despite herself Cloe looked up from her magazine at the sound. She pushed the magazine aside and got off of the bed. She walked to the bathroom and leaned against the door frame, arms crossed.

"Are you hurt?" she asked, trying her best to sound nonchalant. She still hadn't forgiven him for this stupidity.

"Not too badly," Ved said, turning to take a look at his back in the mirror. There were bruises all over his back. They were swollen, the colour of deep purlpe with red edges. Blood was oozing from a few cuts and scrapes here and there.

"You're bleeding," Cloe said a bit more softly, stepping closer to take a look.

"Only a little," Ved said, dismissively.

Cloe took a cloth from the cupboard and soaked it with water, "Turn around," she demanded.

"What are you doing?" Ved asked suspiciously.

"I'm cleaning your wounds, obviously," Cloe said with an roll of the eye.

"No, I don't nee-"

"Just shut up and turn around already!"

For once Ved went quiet and did as he was told. Hesitantly, he turned his back to Cloe and let her clean the cuts. He winced as she carefully wiped away the blood from the wounds.

Cloe couldn't help but admire his back. The smooth white skin - randomly freckled - stretched over bones. The bulky muscles, flexing involuntarily when she put the cold cloth to his skin.

She reached out - almost unconsciously - and lightly brushed her fingers over his skin, slowly. It looked so soft - she just couldn't resist.

Ved stiffened at her sudden touch, holding his breath. It had taken him by surprise. Goosebumps broke out all over his back and a shiver ran down his spine. Hesitantly, he turned around to face her. They were standing so close and he gazed down at her. He gulped.

Then, ever so slowly, he moved his head closer to Cloe's, until their lips were just a few inches apart. Cloe's head was spinning and she couldn't feel her legs.

Then there was a knock at the door.

Ved stopped, closed his eyes and let out a sigh. Cloe hadn't even heard the knock, wasn't aware about anything but Ved's lips, so close to hers. And now the only thing she was aware of was that he was pulling away.

Ved walked out of the bathroom, to the door and opened it. Cloe heard someone say he was needed for and then heard him closing the door again.

He came back into the bathroom and put on his shirt without a word. He wasn't looking at her. Cloe just stood watching him. She didn't know what to say or do.

"I need to go," he mumbled at last, still avoiding her eyes.

"Okay," was all Cloe could respond. Ved headed for the door, then stopped and hesitated. He looked like he wanted to say something, but appearently he couldn't find the words, because he just sighed frustrated and then walked out the door without another word.

When Cloe heard to door close behind Ved she fell back against the wall. She let her head rest against it, closed her eyes and sighed deeply.

She tried to steady her hammering heart and to sort out the strange ache that had formed in her chest. She wondered dully what it was doing there and why.

She had been standing there for a while when she suddenly realised what it was. It was dissapointment - dissapointment of what had failed to happen. And a longing that was so profound that it actually hurt.

Cloe was pulled out of her misery when there was a sudden frantic knocking at the door. She went out of the bathroom to open it. Outside it she found a tearstained Patsy. She was looking completely desperate.

"Cloe! You have to come - something's wrong with K.C!"

"Patsy wha-"

"_Hurry!"_ Patsy said urgently, grabbing Cloe's hand and pulling her along. They ran down the corridor and into K.C's roomr.

Cloe gasped when she saw what state K.C was in. The swollen eyebrow, blood trickled from a huge gap, the red bruises, already changing colour into a sinister purple, and the blood slowly oozing from his nose. Rage filled Cloe as she thought that this was all Ved's doing.

She kneeled down beside K.C to take a look at him. He was lying still - unconscious, but breathing.

"How long has he been like this?" Cloe asked concerned. She didn't know much about medicins, but she knew that being unconscious after hitting your head was bad.

"I don't know," Patsy said, "He's been in and out of consciousness a few times."

Just then K.C's eyes flew open and he groaned immediately, putting a hand to his head and squeasing his eyes shut with pain.

"K.C!" Patsy cried, "Are you alright?"

"My head," K.C groaned, "It's really hurts." He suddenly bent over the side of the bed and threw up. Cloe got out of the way just in time.

"Oh my god, K.C," she said quietly, looking at him with concern. She went into the bathroom to get a glass of water and a towel. When she came back out she threw the towel on the floor, to soak up the vommit and then handed Patsy the water.

Patsy put a hand behind K.C's head, supporting it, "Here, drink this," she said and put the glass to his lips. K.C took a small sip and then lay back down, coughing.

"What's wrong with him?" Patsy said, tears glistering in her eyes.

"I don't know," Cloe mumbled with a small frown - then she looked back at Patsy, "How hard did he hit his head?"

"Pretty hard, I think," Patsy said, looking down at K.C, "I mean, he's pretty beaten up." She sat down at the bedside and took KC's hand, holding it.

Cloe heart was racing. Partly with fear and concern for K.C - and partly with anger. This was all Ved's doing! He'd been unnecessarily harsh with K.C, she thought, clenching her fist with rage. She would go find him and make him come and fix it.

"Stay here, I'll be right back," she said through gritted teeth and turned to leave.

Patsy looked up, alarmed, "Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna go make Ved sorry."

Cloe barged out the door and stomped down the hallway. She flung the door to the computerroom open, unable to controle her temper. It was empty.

She went further down the hallway, and looked into some of the other rooms. At one room she found Scott - another one of Ved's pals.

"Have you seen Ved?" she demanded loudly. Scott spun his chair round to look at her, slightly surprised at her tone, "Yeah, I think he went to the kitchen to grap a bite."

Cloe left without another word, stirring directly towards the kitchen. She hoped he was in there - alone - so she could scream at him.

She pushed the door open and walked in. Ved was standing by the kitchen counter, slicing some fruit. He turned around when he heard the door open and smiled when he saw Cloe.

"Hey," he said with a crocked smile. But his smile soon faded when he saw Cloe's murderous expression as she approached him.

"You!" Cloe snarled, pointing an accusing finger at him, "This is all your fault!"

Ved looked surprised and perplexed, "What are you talking about?"

"K.C!"

Ved's face darkened and his expression went cold, "What about him?"

"He's in really bad shape!"

"So?" Ved snorted, "It's not my fault he's weaker than me. He asked for it."

Cloe cried out in rage, grapped both of Ved's upper arms, holding them tightly and shook him slightly, "Don't you care about anyone but yourself?"

Ved looked surprised for a second by this unexpected action, then carefully folded his expression into a scorn, "Not really, no."

"Ved! You really hurt him!"

"It's not like he was holding back on me either," Ved said, starting to get mad too. He twisted his arms out of her grip, "And it was his idea in the first place!"

"I don't care who startet what!" Cloe hissed, "He may die!"

This seemed to shake Ved a bit. He looked at her for at few seconds, then sighed, "Is he really that hurt?"

"He's really, _really_ hurt. And in huge pain. He's throwing up too."

Ved suddenly looked concerned.

"Will you _please_ come and look?" Cloe asked urgently, "I don't know who else to ask."

"Alright," Ved said, drying off his hands in a towel. He followed Cloe out of the kitchen, down the hallway and into K.C's room.

Patsy jumped up when they walked in, "Cloe! He's getting worse! He's not responding anymore."

Ved and Cloe hurried to the bed and Ved kneeled down beside K.C.

"K.C," he said loudly, slapping K.C's chin lightly a few times to see if he responded. When he didn't, Ved turned to Patsy, "How long has he been like this?"

"He was complaning about a headache - half an hour ago, I think," Patsy said, twisting the damp cloth anoxiously between her hands, "But then he threw up and was sort of confused. And then he passed out a couple of minutes ago."

"He might have a concussion," Ved said, lifting one of K.C's eyeslids to take a look at his pupils, "A really bad one."

"Oh my god," Cloe said quietly, "Is there anything we can do about it?"

Ved heaved a deep sigh, then said, "No. Not really. We don't have any doctors."

Cloe's felt her heart sink. This was really bad. She knew that a bad hit to your head could be potentially lethel. She felt desperate to help K.C, but didn't know how. Tears of frustration and fear pressed behind her eyes and gnawed at her throath.

There was a sudden sound, which made all three of them jump with fright. K.C sat up abruptly with an enormous gasp, "Nooo!" he yelled, seeming delirious, "Where- where am I?"

"Sssch, K.C, sssch," Patsy said desperately, trying to soothe him back down to bed, "It's alright, you're alright."

K.C groaned and let Patsy gently push him back. Pearls of sweat glistered on his forehead and he was panting. Patsy dabbed it gently with the cloth.

"We have to watch over him all through the night," Ved said, "Make sure to turn him over the side of the bed if he's sick, so he doesn't suffocate. We could try and give him some painkillers. It might not help much, but maybe it's be enough for him to relax a bit and get some sleep."

He looked down at Patsy, "Someone has to stay here all night and try and wake him every two hours, to make sure he's responding."

"I'll do it," Patsy said immidiately, "I'll stay."

"We'll help," Cloe said softly, kneeling down besides Patsy, _"All of us."_ She emphazised the last three words while glaring at Ved. He stared mutely at the floor.

"I'll go see if I can find some painkillers," he mumbled and left the room.

When he returned it was rather late. He had a small box of painkillers with him. He went straight to the bed, opened the box and took out two pills.

"Here, see if you can get him to swallow these," he said, giving them to Patsy and then handing her the glass of water, "I'll hold his head."

Together they managed to get K.C to swallow the two pills.

"Now we'll just have to wait and see. If he makes it through the night, I think he'll be okay," Ved said darkly. Patsy heaved in a shaky breath and Cloe put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it reasurringly, "He'll make it, Pats, I promise." She prayed that she sounded more convinced than she felt.

"We'll take turns watching over him," Ved said.

"I'll take the first one," Patsy said, "I don't think I can sleep right now anyway."

Ved nodded and then slumping down in a huge armchair that was standing at the far end. He let his head fall back and closed his eyes. Cloe lay down at the couch and closed her eyes too, hoping she could get some sleep. She was absolutely exhausted from all the worry.

She managed to get a couple of hours of sleep. When she woke up she looked over at Ved. He was sleeping peacefully in the chair. Cloe got up and off the couch and walked over to Patsy.

"How is he?" she asked.

"Stabil, I think," Patsy replied. She was still sitting at K.C's side, holding his hand, "He's breathing more easily now."

"That's good. Do you want me to take over?"

Patsy shook her head, "No I'm fine. I'm not tired. We need to wake him, though - it's been two hours."

She gently shook K.C awake. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at them.

"You alright?" Pasty asked quietly. K.C just nodded vagely and closed his eyes again. He fell right back asleep.

They kept waking him up every two hours as Ved had ordered. After a few hours, Cloe was relieved by Ved. They took turns sitting beside Patsy every other hour. She refused to go to sleep.

The sun was rising outside when she was so exhausted that she finally let Cloe convince her to rest for a bit. Reluctantly she got up and went to the couch, "I'll just rest my eyes for a bit," she said and lay down. It was only a few secounds before her breathing got heavy.

Patsy had cleaned K.C's wounds carefully and repeatedly refreshed the cool cloth on his forehead all night. He had responded well to their waking him up during the night and Cloe felt more and more sure that he was gonna make it. He just needed rest.

K.C suddenly stirred and sighed deeply. He opened his eyes slowly and looked at Cloe.

"Hey," he said hoarsly.

"Hey," Cloe said, "How are you?"

"Battered."

"Oh K.C, we were so worried. You were in really bad shape."

"Yeah, tell me about it," K.C said and smiled weakly, "I feel like I've been hit by a truck."

"You had a severe concussion," Cloe said, "How's your head now?"

"Kind of foggy. But okay. No pain."

"That's good, Ved got you some painkillers."

K.C got up on his elbows with some difficulty and looked around. He looked at Ved's sleeping figure with a sceptically frown, "Really?"

"Yeah, he's been here all night, helping. I think he feels bad about what happened to you."

K.C sighed, "Yeah well - I guess we were both kinda idiots."

Cloe surpressed the urge to snort in agreement. Instead she said, "I'm just glad you're okay."

There was a sound at the far end of the room and K.C looked towards it. Cloe followed his gaze and looked at Patsy. She was whimpering softly in her sleep.

"Patsy's here too," K.C stated, sounding surprisingly pleased.

"Yeah," Cloe said, "She never left you side." She smiled smugly as she watched a wry smile appear on K.C's face.

In the armchair Ved stirred. He slowly opened his eyes as he woke up and turned his head to look at K.C and Cloe.

"Hey, you're up," he said, sounding sincerely pleased, and got up from the chair - with some difficulty. Cloe suspected that he was more hurt than he let on, "How are you feeling?"

"Tired mostly," K.C replied, at the same time as his stomach growled and he grinned, "And starving!"

"I'll go and get us some breakfast," Cloe said, getting up. She shot Ved a small glare before dissappearing out of the door, before she started yelling at him again.

—

Ved sighed deeply as he watched Cloe leave the room. Judging from the angry glare she just sent him on her way out, she clearly hadn't forgiven him. He would have to try and change that later. He grabbed a chair from the computer desk and sat down on it beside K.C's bed.

"You're pretty beaten up," Ved stated quietly, looking at K.C's busted eyebrow. It was all his doing and he wasn't particulary proud of it, he had to admit.

K.C's laughed weakly, "Yeah, you pack a nasty punch."

Ved crinched slightly, mentally bashing himself over the head.

"What about you?" K.C then asked, "Are you hurt? I like to think I got in a few punches myself." He grinned at Ved.

"I think you broke my rib," he said with a small smile. Then his face got serious again, "But I'm not seriously hurt - not like you," he murmured, staring at his feet, "I'm sorry - I never meant to hurt you that bad."

"Ah no worries," K.C said brightly, trying to lift the mood, "I delibaretly provoked you, so I guess I kinda deserved it."

Ved looked at him, confused.

"All those things I said about Cloe - I knew they would bug you," K.C explained, feeling slightly guilty, "I was trying to get you to lose your head."

"You succeeded," Ved said darkly.

"I knew you had feelings for her, but I didn't know they were this intense," K.C said softly. Ved started to object, but then stopped and decided he might as well admit it. He smiled slightly and looked down again.

"I guess I didn't know that either," he said and then glanced back up at K.C, "So what now - should we duel over her?" He was half joking, half serious. "Though, less violently this time..."

K.C smiled, "Tempting. But no. There's really no need. Cloe doesn't hold my heart." He looked over Patsy's sleeping frame, "Someone else does."


	23. Chapter 23

23

Cloe knocked on Ved's door and waited for him to open. She let out a long quivering breath as she waited and frowned at herself. Why was she so nervous? It didn't make any sense to her, but nothing really had the past few days. Her head was all spinning and confused.

Her heart skipped a beat when the door opened and Ved appeared in front of her. His hair was a cascade of blonde dissaray, his almond shaped eyes light and alert. His lower lip was red and swollen from the cut and the bruise around his eye was changing colour into a deep purple.

Oh and he was shirtless.

"Hi," he said, looking down at her.

"Hey," Cloe said awkwardly and had to look away from his penetrating gaze, "Uhm can I come in?"

"Sure," Ved said and stepped aside so she could come in. He closed the door after her.

Cloe walked over to his bed before she turned around to face him. She couldn't seem to find the words, so she just stood there, wringing her hands nervously and looked at her feet.

"Did you want something?" Ved asked after a while of eardeafening silence.

Cloe forced her eyes to look at him and then said quietly, "I'm sorry I yelled at you yesterday. It's just... I was worried about K.C."

"I know," Ved said with a small smile, "It's okay. I guess I deserved it."

Cloe gazed at him for a while. This is so weird, she thought. It was so unlike Ved to admit a fault. She had expected him to give her hell.

"Alright," she said, rather flustered, "Uhm - Good."

"How is K.C?" Ved then asked. He looked almost…guilty?

"Oh he's fine. Patsy's looking after him."

"That's good."

They stood a little while in silence - none of them really knowing what to say.

"I wanted to thank you for helping him," Cloe then said, suddenly remembering why she had come in the first place, "With the painkillers and everything."

"Sure, sure. It's the least I could do after all," Ved said and scratched his neck, uncomfortable. To try to hide his discomfort he fleed into the bathroom. He had been cleaning his wounds before Cloe came. He picked up a cloth from a wash bowl and carefully cleaned the cuts he could reach on his back. Cloe leaned against the doorframe and watched him.

"Do you need help with those?" she asked after a while.

Ved looked at her in the mirror, then nodded quietly, "Please."

Cloe walked over to him and took the cloth. There was a massive, shallow scrape on his back, from when he had fallen to the ground. She hadn't gotten around to it yesterday, before they were interupted. Now it had stopped bleeding but there were bits of dirt and gravel in it. Cloe would have to scrub off the old dried blood and get it to bleed again to clean it up properly.

"This may hurt a bit," she said and looked at Ved, who just nodded mutely. She was very careful when she put the cloth over it, but she had to scrape off the crust of dried blood to get to the dirt. Ved groaned softly in pain.

"I'm sorry," she kept saying whenever she had to be particulary throughout. Her hands were trembleing slightly from having to cause him pain, but she knew it was nessecary. When she had finished cleaning it up she put on a large bandage.

"There," she said, lightly pressing the edges to make it stick, "All done."

"Thanks," Ved said and inspected her work in the mirror. He suddenly groaned and held his side.

"What's wrong?" Cloe asked alarmed.

"Nothing," he mumbled, "It just hurts a little to breathe. I think I broke a rip."

"Whoa, you really beat each other up good," Cloe said quietly.

"Yeah I guess we did."

"So, are you done now?" Cloe then asked, raising an eyebrow at him, "Is this little thing between you and K.C finally over?" It had better be, or she would have to do something drastic. She couldn't stand the two of them hurting each other.

Ved looked down in shame, "It's over. I'm done. I promise."

"Good, 'cause I don't like to see either of you hurt," Cloe said, closing the first aid box. She didn't see Ved's surprised but rather smug expression upon hearing those words, because she was rinsing the bloody cloth with water and then hung it onto the edge of the laundry basket to dry.

"So," Ved said hesitantly, "K.C and Patsy huh?" He smiled crookedly at Cloe, who melted a little bit by the sight. He was so darn cute when he smiled. She wished he would do it more often.

"Yeah - except, I don't think Patsy's got a clue yet," Cloe said and gave a small laugh, "But I think she feels the same way. I can tell by the way she looks at him."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I've known her since we were kids. She's like my sister."

Cloe smiled as she thought back at all the things they had exsperienced together; both the happy times and the sad. They'd always had each other's backs. Except for that one time when Trudy had joined the Chosen and come between them. But that was all in the past now.

After a while of reminiscence Cloe came back to reality and found Ved staring curiously at her. He quickly averted his eyes when she looked over at him, as if he was afraid of what she could see in _his_ look.

"So, uhm," he murmured and suddenly got up, "I have to go and finish some work on the computer. I'll see you later."

He hastened towards the door, leaving Cloe rather perplexed at his sudden retreat. She wondered if she had said something wrong.

When Ved reached the door, he hesitated for a second and then turned halfway back around. He didn't look Cloe in the eye as he said, "Thanks for cleaning my wounds - I appreciate it."

Then he opened the door and left.


	24. Chapter 24

24

It was early in the morning. The sun had just peeked out behind the horizon, painting the sky in various crimson colours. The day was still so young that a layer of thick mist covered the city. Jay profoundly enjoyed these early mornings, because they were quiet and came with the promise of a fresh new day. Furthermore, it gave him a chance to get some work done, without constantly being interupted by an endless row of questions, problems that needed to be solved and last but not least; that frustratingly pesty little brother of his!

It was only yesterday that he'd had to pull him out of a fight - with one of their own men, for godsake! Jay never understood what Ved's problem was. He had been such a sweet child when they were younger - sensitive and caring. At one time, before the virus, his pet turtle had died. He had forced the entire family to attent the funeral, which he had made a huge deal of, with a speech and flowers and candles. He'd even made Speedy an insanely decorative tombstone. It had taken him months to mourn the turtle. But when the virus had spread and his parents had past away - especially his dad, to whom he was very close - that had changed him. He'd become dark and distant. And most of all - angry.

Jay had tried everything to help his brother to deal with the grief and the anger, but Ved did his outmost to reject Jay and seemed to have made it his life's mission to torture Jay in any way he could think of. Sometimes Jay wondered if Ved somehow held him responsible for the deaths of his parents or something.

This morning, Jay had been up a few hours before the sun rose, but now he pushed his chair back, stretched and looked out of the window at the bright morning. He decided to take a break, wanting to get some fresh air to clear his head before the others woke up and all the commotion started anew.

He went out of the main entrance, coughing loudly and threatheningly at the two guards, who had dozed off on their night shift. They both scrambled to their feet hastely and embarresed, mumbling their apologies. Jay sighed annoyed at their incompatence, but decided that it was too early to have your day ruined by two morons, so he went on briskily and climbed a small hill. At the top he had view over the whole city. He closed his eyes and breathed in the crispy, cool air and listened to the birds chirping joyfully in the nearby trees.

"Beautiful morning, don't you agree?" someone suddenly said beside him, making Jay gasp out in surprise. He had been so sure that he was all alone out here, especially this early in the morning.

"Ebony!" he said and tried to steady his galloping heart, that had jumped into a race from the fright.

"Sorry," Ebony said and laughed a little, "I didn't mean to startle you."

"It's quite all right," Jay said, and couldn't help but laugh slightly himself.

"You're quite the early bird," Ebony said, looking up at him.

"I enjoy the peace and quiet," Jay said, looking out over the city. Then he glanced down at Ebony, "Anyway, I could say the same about you."

"I'm a morning person myself - although, sometimes, it's because I haven't gone to bed yet." She grinned cheekily up at him and he smiled and shook his head at her. They stood for a while, both just admiring the view and the sunshine that caressed their faces.

"Just out for a morning stroll?" Jay then asked casually.

"You could say that."

"It's quiet a long way from the city, wouldn't you say?" Jay glanced sidesways down at her with a smug expression.

"What can I say - something must have drawn me here," Ebony replied and flashed him a heartbreakingly beautiful smile. Jay looked back out over the city and felt his heart start up a new race - this time is wasn't out of fright. He tried to control it, but found that it was impossible. He cleared his throat and shifted uneasily - he always liked to be in total control of himself. For some reason, Ebony seemed to throw him off his otherwise perfectly controlled balance.

"Well, now that you're here," he said, keeping his eyes on the city, "We might as well go inside and look up your friends on my computer."

"They're not my friends," Ebony reminded him. She didn't want Jay to think that either Bray, Lex or Jack were her boyfriend. That would be bad for business.

"It's stictly business," she assured him.

"Alright," Jay said. He led them down the hill and into the building. The other technos were starting to wake up and there was a few groggy-looking men walking around. Jay found a computer room that was still empty and sat down behind a computer. Ebony stood right behind him, howering, as he typed the keyboard with skilled, knowing hands. He wasn't worried to let Ebony watch, as he knew it wouldn't make much sense to her. He was writing in codes with all numbers and letters in seemingly random order.

After a while, he could sense that she started to get bored, as she sighed and started to walk around the room slowly. He found the list containing all the data of the people plucked out from this city and shipped away to work. There were pictures of each single one, with their name, age and current location.

"Come take a look," he called out to Ebony. She walked over to him, stood close to his chair and leaned down beside him to take a look at the many pictures.

Jay caught his breath when she did this, at the closeness of her. He could feel her braids caressing his shoulder and arm and the warmth that radiated from her skin. She smelled devine. He forced himself to focus on the pictures on the screen and the job in hand, "Do you recognise any of them?"

Ebony didn't answer for a while, just stood looking at them as Jay slowly scrolled through the pages, to reveal more pictures.

"No," she said when they had looked at them all. Her voice was strangely small and weak. Jay wondered if she was surprised at the amount of people that had been taken away or if it was something else. He dared not look at her, afraid to find anger or even disgust on her face.

"I promise you, they're okay and are being taken care of," he said, putting on his work-tone, to hide the emotion in his voice.

"That's good. I want all of my cityfolks to be safe and well - till they return" Ebony said, seeming to have found her normal, strong voice again. Jay said nothing, wishing not to inform her that they might not all come back. There was always some of them who never made it back. It was part of the price for this whole operation.

"Well," Ebony said and straightened back up. She put a hand on Jay's shoulder, "Thank you for this."

"No problem," Jay said stiffly. His skin was burning under her touch, even though it was on his shirt. He felt immensly disappointed when she removed it, leaving his shoulder cold and empty. He was beating himself inside for letting some woman affect him this way. He felt silly and awkward and he didn't like it one bit.

"I'd better get back to the city," Ebony said behind him. Jay spun around his chair, desperately rummaging his brains for an excuse to make her stay. _Just for a bit longer,_ his heart screamed. He closed his eyes and shook his head to clear it. This was an unacceptable behavior from his side. He couldn't let her have this much power over him, making him slightly crazy and out of control.

"I'll show you out," he said and got up. He turned the handle of the door and pushed it open, gesturing for Ebony to go out first, like the gentleman he was. He then followed her down the hallway, looking at her with a frown on his face, as he wondered what it was about her that had him so mesmerised. At first he had fallen for her looks. Her olive skin - so fine and smooth, with those cute little apple cheeks. And lips, bright red and luscious - and so kissable…

But as he had gotten to know her a little, he'd begun to strongly admired her character too. So strongwilled and fierce. She was the strongest woman he had ever met. She was funny too. And god she was smart! Extremely clever and quick-witted. She simply had it all.

He led her out of the main entrance and walked her a little further down the road to the city, not wanting to let her go just yet. They stopped when they reached the end of the road and Ebony turned around to face him.

"I'm sorry I couldn't help you find your not-friends," Jay said, sending her an apologic small smile, which Ebony returned with a huge warm one.

"That's okay," she said, "I appreciate your help anyway." She stared into his eyes, "I really do." Then she reached up and placed a swift, sweet kiss at the corner of Jay's surprised lips.

Then she flashed him a heartmelting smile, turned around and walked away, leaving behind a shocked, heartflutteringly delighted Techno General.

—

It was a bittersweet feeling that filled Ebony as she walked down the pathway towards the city. This little visit had been both very sucessful, but also brought sadness.

On one hand, her work on Jay had worked out better than suspected. Although Jay was a controlled, strong man, she could easily see how she affected him. It was no surprise, she _had_ used all of her best seductive skills and womanly assets to try and win him over. And she felt like she was succeeding.

She had paid great attention to the little cracks that had started to form in his well-controlled facade. How he sometimes held his breath when she touched him, and his stolen glances at her when he thought she wasn't looking. And he hadn't pulled away or told her off when she had innocently kissed him as a thanks. Overall she was satisfied with the progress so far and was certain it wouldn't be long before he crossed over to their side.

On the other hand, she felt distressed. Back when Jay had asked her if she recognised anyone on the computer, she had lied. She had seen severel people she knew - including all of the missing mallrats. She had decided that it would be better not to tell Jay, as he was still the enemy and Ebony knew it was best to keep certain things to herself until she knew if she could trust him. Then she would tell him the truth.

She had tried to see where they had been taken to, but the text under their picture just said 'Shipped away' or 'flown overseas' and then some strange name of location that made no sense to her. She could only pray that her plan with Jay would succeed so that she could ask him about the locations later and bring them back. Now she needed to go back to Amber and the others and tell them what she had seen.

The sun had risen and stood high on the sky, bathing everything in warmth and light. It was a beautiful day, Ebony thought, as she walked down a set of stairs that lead to a gravel path. She was still in the county side and the birds sang cheerfully above.

There was a sudden movement just behind her and before she could turn around ans see who it was, someone grabbed her arm and threw her down to the ground. She landed on the dirt, scraping har arms on the gritty ground. Cursing loudly, she tried to scramble to her feet, but before she could, the air was knocked out of her as someone kicked her rips and made her tumble over anew. She felt her head hit the ground and gasped with pain. Black dots appeared before her eyes. She rolled over on her back to try and see her assaulter.

It was a man - tall and dark against the sun, so that Ebony couldn't see his face. She held up a hand to shield her eyes from the sun. Now she could make out his outfit; black combat boots, black pants with a belt, black shirt with the red zipper and then his face, which Ebony now recognised with grim realisation.

It was Smith - the Techno guard who she had quarrelled with before. He stood towering over her, his ugly face twisted into a scornful sneer.

"Well, well, well," he snickered, "look who it is - our fearless cityleader."

He started to slowly circling Ebony and everytime she tried to stand up, he kicked her down with his boot. Ebony was boiling inside. If she had just heard him coming from behind, she would have been able to fight him off. She would have kicked his ass all the way back to the hell dimension he came from.

"What is this?" she demanded hoarsly, still on the ground. She had stopped trying to get up - it was simply pointless. He had the upper hand, so she just lay still, till she could come up with a plan.

"Oh I felt we had unfinished business, which I have now come to settle," Smith said, strolling lazily around her. He looked maddingly pleased with himself, which made Ebony's blood boil even more.

When he reached her left side he suddenly kneeled down, putting a knee on Ebony's chest to hold her down. The weight of him on her chest hurt fiercly and made it difficult to breathe. Ebony tried to pry him off, but he was too strong.

"Such beautiful, red lips," he said, smiling evilly down at her, "I can't deside whether to kiss them - or to hurt them." He put his head down closer to Ebony's, increasing the weight on her chest in the process, "Maybe I'll do both."

Ebony couldn't breathe at all now and she clawed desperately at his leg to make it move. She suddenly raised her hand and qucikly, as a snakebite, scratched him across the face. He reeled back, groaning in pain.

Ebony gasped as air filled her lungs again. She was too weak to get up, so she just looked at Smith, while she tried to steady her breath. Her lungs ached from the lack of air and the strain of gasping in oxygen. Her nails had left deep, red lines on his face; some of them there were oozing blood. He was looking down at her with a furious expression.

"And here I was thinking we could do this the civilised way."

Ebony snorted at the obvious lie. Smith didn't seem like the kind of guy who sat you down and talked through the issues, nice and quiet. He was more the 'I'll-beat-the-sense-into-you' kind of guy. She wondered dreadfully what was in store for her next.

"Ram won't be pleased when he hear how you treat his precious cityleader," Ebony said, trying to stall time while she desperately tried to come up with a plan. Smith strode over to her in three long steps and kneeled down again - this time on top of her. He put his knees onto Ebony's struggling arms to pin them down and wound his hands around her throat in a choke.

"Good thing Ram won't know what happened to his precious little cityleader - as she'll go mysteriously missing."

Underneath him, Ebony was starting to panic. She usually had these things under control, always got the upper hand in any situation, but this time she was really in trouble. The grip around her throat tightened and she felt how her windpipe was sqeashed shut, preventing any air from entering. She felt so scared, lying there, unable to move, unable to fight back, just completely helpless. And slowly dying.

But she also felt a rage she had never felt before. Is was the feeling of helplessness that enraged her the most. It was so completely unfair, her not being able to fight back and defend herself. Not being able to move an inch and not being able to _breathe_. But most of all she was furious that she was going to die.

The black spots were back in her vision. This time they were accompanied by sparkling stars, except these ones hurt. They prickled and cut into Ebony's eyeballs, almost matching the screaming pain in her chest from the lack of air. In fact her whole body ached.

There was a blur in her vision, but Ebony couldn't tell if it was the black dots, racing around like crasy, of if it was something outside her mind. Nevertheless, she heard a sudden sound, like wood on something hallow, and then the weight was removed from her body, and the hands around her neck dissappeared. For the third time that morning, Ebony gasped violently for air.

It was a few seconds before those pesty black spots dissapeared from her vision. She blinked the few last ones away and focused her eyes on the turmoil and shouting that was happening around her. The first thing she saw was Smith; he was standing on his feet, back turned at Ebony. She could see a nasty wound on the back of his head, that was bleeding. He was breathing heavily and staring at someone in front of him. Then suddenly he ducked, just barely avoiding a large piece of wood, that was swinging over his head. Ebony traced the wood with her eyes, from the bloody tip, all the way up to the two hands that was holding on to it in the other end, up the red leaderjacket-covered arms and stopped at Slade's face.

"I know I promised not to try and rescue you again," Slade said, looking at her with a glint in his eye, "but I'm gonna have to break my promise on that."

He must have been the one beating Smith off of her, Ebony thought dully. She tried to get up on her feet, to help Slade, but her head hurt and she felt dizzy, so she slid back down against a tree trunk. She watched, dazed, as Slade trew the wood away and put up his fists, ready to fight with those instead. They circled for a while, eyeing each other, then Smith leaped forward, taking a hit on Slade, but missing as Slade stepped back. Smith had put so much force behind the action, that when he failed to hit, he stumbled forward instead. Slade took advantage of this and sent down a blow on his back, which caused Smith to fall to the ground, groaning.

While Smith was scrambling around on the ground, trying to catch his breath, Slade ran over to Ebony and kneeled down beside her, "You okay?" he asked, concerned, putting his hand on the side of her head.

"Peachy," Ebony mumbled sarcastically.

"You're hurt," Slade stated, seeing the cut on her forehead.

"Slade..." Ebony murmured, weakly.

"Schh, don't talk, try and relax," Slade said absently, now inspecting the scratches on her arms with a frown on his forehead.

"Slade..." Ebony tried again.

"What?" Slade said, finally looking at her.

"Smith." She raised her hand and pointed behind him. Slade looked back a saw that Smith had gotten on his feet and was now dragging himself towards them.

"Oh," Slade said, then turned back to Ebony, "Sit tight for just a moment, luv." Then he jumped up and went to face Smith. This time he didn't waste any time, but walked towards his opponent, then ran the last few feet to get some force behind his attack, and then placed his fist right in the middle of Smith's face. He was immediately floored, now bleeding from both the back of his head and the front. He lay completely still, only his chest moved up and down slowly. He'd been knocked out.

Slade quickly went back to Ebony and got down in front of her, "That should do it, I think."

He helped her to her feet and supported her as she stood. Ebony's head felt like someone was hitting it with a sledgehammer, so she closed her eyes and groaned, "My head - it hurts."

"I know a place nearby," Slade said, and without further ado, he picked her up - like a bride - and carried her. Normally Ebony would protest against such a thing - she was much too proud and independent to be carried anywhere, but right now she was hurt and couldn't find it in her to object. So she just let him carry her. But instead of heading for the city, he took her further west, somewhere into the countryside, to a small abandoned wooden house, hid in between grassy hills. Ebony was only vaguely aware of where they were going. She had her eyes closed, holding on to Slade's neck the best she could. She wasn't too worried about where he took her - she trusted him.

Somewhere on the way, she fell asleep, or fainted. Either way, when she woke up she found herself lying in a wooden bed, with blankets covering her. She felt warm and cozy and safe. Her head didn't hurt too much any more, so she lay for a while, eyes closed, just relaxing and waking up. She was suddenly aware of a scent that filled her nose and made her mouth water. Something roasting over fire. So she opened her eyes and slowly sat up.

"Hey you," Slade said and smiled. He was sitting by the fireplace, slowly rotating a stick with some fish on it, to roast them over the fire. It was dark outside, indicating that Ebony had slept through the most of the day.

"Hey," she said hoarsly and coughed. Her throat felt raw and sore. She got out of bed slowly, as her whole body ached, and went to sit next to Slade on a stool.

Slade found a tin cup from the small cupboard in the kitchen area and poured her some tee from a pot, hanging over the fire.

"Here, drink this," he said and handed her the cup. Ebony took it greatfully and carefully sipped the warm liquid. It tasted of herbs and flowers, but had a slightly bitter aftertaste.

"Drink up," Slade said and smiled at her wrinkled nose, "It'll do you good."

For once, Ebony did as she was told, although she didn't want to. But she emptied the whole cup and declined when Slade offered to fill it up again.

"How long have I been asleep?" she asked him, looking at the moon, which shone brightly outside the window.

"All day," Slade said, stirring a spoon around in small cauldron, also handing over the fire. It smelled divine. Ebony could feel her stomach churn from hunger.

"What is this place?" she asked, to distract herself untill the food was ready. She looked around at the small wooden house. It was one big room, without any other rooms. There was only one bed, which stood in the corner, with a small bedside table and an oil lamp. At the other end was the kitchen. It consisted of a long wooden counter, with a porcelain sink in the middle and cupboards hanging on the walls. Pots and pans were hanging on the wall to the left. In the middle of the house stood a long table, with chairs around it - wooden of course. All in all, primitive, but cozy.

"This is my house. It's were I live," Slade said, poking around in the fire with an ironpoker to stir up the flames.

Ebony frowned, "But I thought you lived in Liberty."

Slade took time to put some more wood onto the fire before answering, "I did. But I moved here recently - for personal reasons."

Ebony was intrigued and was tempted to jump into a fullfletched interrogation about this, but decided that that would have to wait until another time, when her head was more clear.

"Are you feeling okay?" he then asked, looking at her with concerned eyes.

"I feel fine, just a bit groggy," Ebony said. She suddenly remembered the sharp pain she had felt in her forehead when falling to the ground and automatically raised a hand to it. She got up and walked over to a small mirror that was hanging on the wall by the bed.

She was shocked when she saw her own reflection. There was a small gash on her forehead, which had been cleaned and stitched up. She had scrapes on the side of her head - those looked clean too. But what shocked her the most was the red and purple marks around her neck, where Smith's hands had tried to strangle her. She felt sick to her stomach, thinking back at the moment, when she lay there on the ground, certain that she was going to die. A lump formed in her troat.

"I cleaned your wounds," Slade suddenly said behind her. Ebony looked at him in the mirror, tears pressing behind her eyeballs. Fortunately, Ebony had the ability to hold those suckers in at all times and she had practised it to perfection. She swallowed hard.

"Thank you," she just said.

"Don't mention it," Slade said and smiled at her. Ebony turned around and looked him in the eye.

"I really mean it," she said softly, "Thank you for everything - for this," she held up her arm that Slade had bandaged, "for saving me. Everything."

"You're welcome," Slade said quietly. Ebony stepped closer, then reached up and kissed him. Slade instantly wrapped his arms around her and kissed her back. They stood locked in an embrace for a while, then Slade pulled away and looked down at her.

"You must be starving," he said, and Ebony was immediately reminded of her screaming stomach, so she nodded eagerly. Slade took her hand and led her to the table. Here she sat down while Slade found plates from the cupboard and got the food from the fire. There was the grilled fish, which he had caught from the stream outside the house, and a vegestable stew. He poured more of the tea into Ebony's cup without asking her and then sat down himself.

They ate till they were both full. Ebony was impressed by his cooking skills. The fish tasted delicious and went well with the vegestable stew. Afterwards she helped him wash the dishes in water from the stream and then they got pillows and blankets from the bed and put them down on the floor by the fire.

There they cuddled up and watched the flames lick the wood. The little sounds of wood popping and ember crackling was very soothing. Despite all the horror and pain Ebony had felt this morning, she was now warm and comfortable and safe, wrapped in Slade's big strong arms.

"You know I have to continue my work on Jay," she said quietly after some thought. Slade didn't reply immediately, obviously not liking the thought of Ebony flirting with another man.

"I know," he muttered, "But that doesn't mean I have to like it."

"It's an important part of the plan to rid the town of these creeps," Ebony said, glad she was sitting with her back leaned against him and couldn't see his face, "I almost have him where I want."

Slade's sat silent in the wake of her words. It concerned Ebony. She had to somehow convince him that he shouldn't worry.

She twisted so that she could look up at him, "It doesn't mean the same to me, as it does to him."

Slade glanced down at her, then smiled crookedly and kissed her softly. After a while they broke apart and Ebony leaned back against him.

"Just...don't go too far," Slade said, tightening his grip around her just a bit and burried his head in her hair. Ebony smiled and knew exactly what he meant.

"I won't - I promise."

As they sat there, Ebony began to wonder. I was strange. She could understand why Jay fancied her. She had done her outmost to seduce him - secretely so, but still; she'd had to pull out all her best skills and use all the experience she'd had with men (and that was quite a lot) - poor Jay never stood a chance.

But Slade... He had been given the cold shoulder from the beginning. Ebony hadn't even flirted with him. Not intentional that is. And she had been rather cold, only having her masterplan on her mind and not wanting to be disturbed or hindered by some biker-dude. Especially not a cocky, devilishly handsome one like Slade.

And despite all that, Slade still found her wonderful. She didn't get it. But hey, she wasn't complaining. She had never met anyone that matched her recklessness and passion like he did. Who could match her intellect and, more importantly, could keep her on her toes - and, occationally, could put her in her place.


	25. Chapter 25

25

It was late afternoon when Cloe turned off the computer, pushed her chair back and stretched her back. All these hours sitting behind a computer was making her body stiff and achy. She wasn't used to sitting still for so long. Back at the mall there was always things to do - cleaning the kitchen, playing hide and seek with Brady or going out looking for food. The only exercise she got here was when she went to the gym. She mainly did this to blow off steam and when she was bored.

Sitting at another computer on the other side of the table was Ved's pal Tyler. He had brown wavery hair, blue kind eyes and a square jawline. Rather handsome. He and Cloe had become friends over time, as they shared the same humor.

"Long hours?" he asked as he watched Cloe stretch her arms over her head and groan softly.

"Yeah, all this computerwork is making me stiff."

"Or maybe you're just old," Tyler said grinning, and ducked out of harms way when Cloe threw a ball of crumbled paper after him. He had been teasing her for as long as they had been friends about the fact that she was a year older than him, constantly making jokes about her being 'old'. She didn't mind though - it was nice with a bit of fun in this otherwise scary and difficult existence.

"You forget; older means wiser," Cloe said and winked at him, "and the right to rule."

"Is that so?"

"It is," Cloe said and got up, "And I decide that we go and do something fun."

"Like what?"

"Like..." Cloe took a moment to think about it, then an evil smile spread across her face and she looked down at Tyler who was laughing at her mischievous expression.

Then slowly, as it downed on him what Cloe was thinking, his face fell serious. "Cloe, no. We can't. It's too risky."

"Oh come on, you big coward! It's so much fun," Cloe laughed and thought back at last week, when the two of them had been so bored out of their minds that they had been hyping each other up to do something crazy.

Cloe had given Tyler a dare, knowing he was too proud to say no, challenging him to go into Ram's room when he had his usual afternoon nap and tinkering with his wheelchair. It was an insane and dangerously risky affair - if they got caught Ram was going to severely punish them - maybe even delete them. But it was priceless to hear the crashes and then the outraged roars from Ram when his wheelchair reversed instead of moving forward and went right instead of left.

Cloe and Tyler had been dashing down the hallway and out of sight before anyone would see them, laughing so hard that they had tears streaming down their faces. Ram had been in a terrible mood for days, demanding to know who was messing with him and threathening with apocalypse if he found out. The two guilty ones had been standing with poker faces, not daring to look at each other, at the risk of bursting out in giggles.

"Aw what's the matter - are you scared?" Cloe asked, hoping to stir up the pride in him.

"Hell yeah I am!" Tyler said with a nervous laugh, "I bet he's got camera's in there now and everything. And I think he means business."

"Oh you big baby!" Cloe laughed, "Okay if you won't - then I will!" She went dashing for the doors, but was grabbed from behind before she reached it.

"No!" Tyler said with his arms wrapped around her, "I'm not letting you." He was lifting her up from the ground (he may be younger, but he was still severel inches taller).

"Let me go!" Cloe squealed, laughing and writhing in his grasp, "As the ruler I demand you to put me down!"

"Well I'm refusing to obey!" Tyler said, struggling to hold her, "And I'm going to throw you off the throne!"

"Okay! Okay!" Cloe laughed, "I'll surrender. Just put me down, please."

"If I put you down, do you promise not to run?"

"Fine, I promise!"

Tyler put her back on the ground, but didn't release his grip around her, "I'm not sure I trust you," he grinned. Just then the door opened and Ved appeared. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw them, his eyes going from Cloe, down to the arms around her and up to Tyler's face. Tyler immediately let go.

Cloe studied Ved's face, looking for any sign of emotion, but his face was hard and stripped of any.

"Quit fooling around!" he barked, his icy voice cutting through Cloe like a whiplash, "This place is already packed with useless idiots, we don't need any more."

Whoa, Cloe thought, he was really in a bad mood today. It was a shame - he had been so nice and kind - almost humble - these past few days, since the whole thing with K.C. Now he was clearly over that.

She looked over at Tyler who was staring at his feet. He and Ved may be buddies, but Ved was still his suprior and had total power over Tyler's faith. He dared not disagree with Ved when he was in this mood. But Cloe did.

"Calm down, we were just having a bit of fun," she said defiantly. Ved snapped his head up to look at her. There were lightning in his eyes; bright and deafening and deadly.

"We don't have time for fun," he hissed, almost baring his teeth like an snarling wolf, "We've got work to do."

"You're beginning to sound like Jay - did you know that?" Cloe said and looked at him. She knew she was hitting a nerve, because the lightning in his eyes turned into a stormy hurricane with tornados and thunder and hail all at once. She shuddered internally at his glare.

"You!" he snarled, glaring fiercely at Tyler and taking a step closer to him, "_Leave. Now_. Go down into computer-room 3 and help with fase 2 - make yourself useful!"

Tyler nodded stifly and hurried past Ved and out of the door. Ved strode over to the door and slammed it shut with one agressive shove. He was breathing heavily from anger.

"What is wrong with you?" Cloe snapped, finally losing her temper, feeling like he was overreacting. He was such a gooddamn dramaqueen sometimes! "You're being a complete jackass!"

"I told you, we don't have time for your childish games," Ved growled, walking past her and sitting down at one of the computers.

"We have been working for 8 hours straight - we were just taking a break, for godsake!" Cloe said, rolling her eyes, "Have breaks been prohibited recently?"

"Of course not, don't be stupid," Ved said, not moving his eyes from the screen.

"Then what's your problem?" Cloe pressed on, demanding an answer as to why he was such a jerk. Not so much towards her, but towards Tyler - he certainly didn't deserve this amount of wrath.

"My problem -" Ved said, spinning his chair around so that he could sent her a disgusted glare, " - is that I could hear you all the way down to my room. Is this your way of keeping your head down and blending in? You are a virt and you're not really supposed to be here. Or have you forgotten?"

Cloe felt a prickling behind her eyes. The fact that Ved still saw her as just a virt - the lowest of the lowest from techno perspective - really hurt her. Yes she was a non techno, only pretending to be a techno, but still...

"No I haven't," she said with forced calm, after forcing the angry tears back in where they belonged and quenching the tremour in her voice, "just like I haven't forgotten who brought me here in the first place - against my will."

They glared mutely at each other for a few seconds.

"Yeah well, I'm beginning to regret that," Ved said, "you're proving to be much more work than I anticipated."

"Then let me go," Cloe shot back.

"I can't."

Cloe groaned frustrated and turned around, running a hand through her hair. He was so unpredictable and moody. She never knew on what foot to stand or what he expected of her.

"I'm really getting tired of you yelling at me over something stupid," she said turning back towards him, "And what did Tyler do to deserve that?" She held out a hand towards the door that Tyler had ran out of, "We weren't doing anything wrong."

"You're not taking things serious!" Ved shouted and flew up from his chair, "You're noisy! You're childish! You're lazy!" He held up fingers one by one as he counted, "The two of you are a couple of slackers!" He almost spat the word at her and looked disgusted.

Cloe felt wildly offended. Didn't he hear when she said they'd been working for 8 hours straight before taking a break? He was being totally unfair. The tears behind her eyes were pressing on with new force, determained more than ever to escape.

"Maybe I should seperate the two of you," Ved went on in his icy tone, "For good. As you can't seem to work together efficiently."

"What?" Cloe said in disbelief, dread filling her stomach - then a defiant, "No!"

"You're giving me no choise."

"Of course you have a choise!" Cloe yelled, "You're chosing to punish me! And I don't understand why!"

"This has nothing to do with you, Cloe," Ved said, "I'm doing what's best for the program."

Of course! His beloved program! That was all he ever cared about…

It was first, as she stood breathing heavily from anger and hurt, that she stopped to think things through. She had flown into such a temper that her head had been all cloudy, and she hadn't been able to think clearly.

Now things were slowly downing on her. She thought back at when Ved had entered. How it must have looked like to him, seeing Tyler's arms around her. She hadn't thought about it before now, because it wasn't like that at all. They had just been kidding around.

Now when she remembered what K.C had told her, about Ved having feelings for her, then the almost-kiss in her bathroom, she understood.

"Are you jealous?" she then asked, eyeing Ved, "Is that it?"

Ved snorted scornfully, "Oh please! Don't flatter yourself. I'm not jealous." The slight trembling in his voice said otherwise. But Cloe just couldn't take it anymore. She had had enough of his mood swings and the scorn and contempt that she felt she didn't deserve from him.

"You know what," she said, her traitorous voice breaking slightly in the end, "Just forget it. I'm done." She turned around and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Ved asked, alarm in his voice. It made Cloe stop and turn around.

"I can't win with you. _Nothing_ I ever do is good enough. I don't understand what I did to deserve this." The tears had finally found their way out and was running down her cheeks. She wiped them away angrily and turned back around to leave.

"No wait!" Ved called out, getting up and holding up one hand as if he was reaching out for her, though she was far out of his reach. Cloe shook her head and started to open the door but suddenly Ved was beside her, slamming it shut with his hand and holding it there. Cloe looked up at him in surprise.

"Don't leave," he said quietly, staring into her eyes, "I'm sorry."

"I don't get you Ved," Cloe said, as a new stream of tears started to flow, "I don't understand."

Ved closed his eyes, "I know," he sighed, and then said again, "I'm sorry."

All the anger and contempt that had filled his face before was now completely gone. Instead, it was now filled with sadness and regret, "You did nothing wrong."

Cloe shook her head weakly, trying to sort out all the mixed signals. She couldn't make sense of it all. It was just too confusing.

They were still standing by the door - Ved with his hand on it to prevent Cloe from leaving, looking down at her with tortured eyes - and Cloe with her eyes closed and tearstained cheeks. They stood like this for some time, neither of them speaking. It gave Cloe time to think - and she had made up her mind.

"I can't do this," she finally said, breaking the silence. She opened her eyes and looked up at Ved, "It's too exhausting."

Ved looked like someone who had lost the will to live. He said nothing but just stood there, looking at her, hand still on the door like it was glued on.

"Can I please get out?" Cloe asked. She needed time to think. And she couldn't think when he looked at her with those almond eyes. It made her head spin.

"No," Ved said calmly, unleashing the full effect of his gaze on her. Whether he was aware of his eye's effect on her, Cloe didn't know. Her legs started to go numb.

"Please Ved. I need to think."

"No." He didn't budge even an inch.

"You can't keep me in he-"

She was interupted mid-sentence by Ved's lips, which suddenly pressed against hers. At first Cloe was totally surprised, standing stiffly with wide eyes. Then, slowly, her eyes fluttered shut and she gave herself into the total and utter bliss that took over her mind and body.

—

As soon as Ved felt Cloe's body relax, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him. He'd taken a chance kissing her like that, not knowing if she would kiss him back, or simply slap him.

His whole body felt weak with relief and euphoria now that she was kissing him back. He'd only hoped and prayed that she would, but wasn't sure about what she felt for him. He hadn't exactly been nice to her recently, crazed with jealousy - one of his many flaws.

He kissed her hungrily and deeply for a long time, and he wondered briefly if he was ever going to be able to stop. But eventually he had to stop for air, worried too, that Cloe needed some.

When he finally opened his eyes and pulled away, he was slightly out of breath. He looked down at Cloe and smiled wryly. Cloe was mildly flushed and her lips were swollen. She returned his smile shyly.

"I'm sorry," Ved murmured, "I couldn't resist any longer."

"Don't be," Cloe said and smiled at him. She put her hands on his cheeks and pulled him down into another kiss - this one a bit shorter, but just as sweet.

"I'm glad you did it," she said when they pulled apart.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Ved put his forehead against hers and stood like that for a while, eyes closed, just enjoying the moment.

"Ved," Cloe said after some time, "I really do need to go. I have to report back to Jay about today's work."

Ved promtly let go, afraid that he had caused her to be in trouble. Jay was ridiculously fussy about these reportings and could get particularly miffed if you skipped one.

"Sure, of course." He stepped back a bit so that he wasn't blocking the door any more. Cloe smiled and took a few steps towards the door and reached for the handle. She looked up at Ved before she opened the door, then reached up and gave him one last quick kiss.

"I'll see you later," she said, before opening the door and disappearing out of it.

—

Cloe walked down the hallway, absentminded. She didn't seem to be able to lose the smile on her face. Her body may be walking in this hallway, but her heart, mind and soul was still back in the computerroom with Ved. It took every ounce of her willpower not to turned around and run back, throw herself into his arms and kiss him like there was no tomorrow. It was all she could think about. She wanted to kiss him and never _ever_ let go.

Somehow, she managed to walk all the way down to Jay's office and to report, rather destractedly (Jay darted her a dissaproving glare), about today's work. Afterwards she floated back to her room in a daze and threw herself on the bed, facing the ceiling.

Ved kissing her had certainly changed things, but she still needed to think things through. She just needed to locate her brains first.

Oh it can wait! she decided, after very few and weak internal arguments. So for now, she settled with just lying there, in total bliss and without a care in the world. For now she was simply wallowing.


	26. Chapter 26

26

After a few day's of rest - and a bit of Patsy's tender loving care - K.C was up and about again. He would have been up sooner under normal circumstances, but he enjoyed Patsy's attention so much, that he stayed in bed one day longer than really nessesary. Patsy had fluttered around him, bringing him food and water, had helped him to the bathroom when he needed to and entertained him when he was bored. She had found novels in the basement, which she read to him. He'd enjoyed that very much, just lying there and listening to the sound of her voice - he found it absolutely beautiful.

But after three days, when he felt he couldn't push it any further, he reluctantly declared himself fully healed. Patsy had brought warmth and laughter with her presence, and now in her absence his room felt cold and empty.

Cloe had been there a few times to visit him, bringing sweets she'd bribed Tyler to find for her. Even Ved had visited, checking in on him, apologizing again for causing this. K.C ensured him it was all forgot and forgiven, seeing as he himself was partly to blame. The two of them had almost become friends. K.C had found that he and Ved actually had much in common, despite that Ved wasn't the easiest guy to get to know. After putting aside their rivalry, they sort of just clicked. Ved even brought K.C a laptop, to make the time go by a little faster, which K.C was deeply grateful for.

Today was K.C's first day out of bed and his fingers were itching to get back to work. He would start up slow; his whole body still ached from the fight and he still became a bit dizzy from time to time - aftereffects from the concussion no doubt. Today he would learn the new recruits how to handle a zapper. He had sent Patsy to gather them up outside in the training fields behind the buildings.

When he got there, they were all waiting for him, smalltalking and laughing. As he aproached, they all went quiet and formed ranks, like soldiers, and stared straight ahead.

"At ease!" K.C shouted, giving them permission to relax and step out of line.

"Okay," he said loudly, in order for all of them to hear him, "Today we're gonna learn how to operate zappers. You are all given a zapper," (Tyler, today working as K.C's assistance, handed each of the recruits a zapper), "Now, pay attention as I demonstrate." K.C turned around, raised his hand and pointed it at a shooting target, standing 20 feet away. He activated the zapper by pressing a button on the side. Then he took aim and fired a bright red lazer, with a jerk of the hand. It zoomed through the air and hit the target very close to the middle. He turned around to look at the others.

"There are several levels of power ranging from 1-10. 1 is just to inflict pain, 5 will stun a person and 10 is lethal." He looked around at all of them with a serious face. "Please be careful when handling these weapons."

They all looked a little scared. Some of them eyed the device around their wrist with some sort of disgust. K.C didn't blame them, having felt the excruciating pain of being shot with one of these things. He himself loathed them. He thought is was a grusome weapon, that could kill a person way too easy. Once they had defeated the Technos and gained control back on their city, these weapons would be the first thing he would destroy. But for now, while he was undercover, he had to play along.

"Today, we will only be shooting at level 1. All stand in line!" The recruits, inclusive Patsy, all formed a line, standing shoulder to shoulder. There was a shooting target for each one of them.

"Now, raise your hand," K.C said, slowly walking down the line behind them, "And push the small lever so it's pointed at 1."

He waited until everyone had done so, then said, "Now, take aim and push the buttom on the left side of the zapper to activate it. On my command, jerk your hand to shoot." Once again he waited until everyone was ready.

"Fire!"

Severel red lazers shot through the air. Some of them hit the target, some flew right past it and disappeared into the air behind it.

"Again!" K.C shouted and watched as the process was repeated. He walked back and forth, observing each one and correcting them. Tyler walked around and helped them too, showing them how best to aim and telling them to breathe. When he reached Patsy, he whispered something in her ear that made her laugh. The sound made K.C look over at them and a furious beast awakened in his stomach at once. Tyler was not a bad-looking guy - a bit young - but rather handsome. And he was making Patsy laugh. The caveman in K.C screamed at him to grab a wooden club and bash Tyler's head in, but the modern man that he was, supressed that urge and simply scowled instead. When he reached them, he looked down at Tyler with a glare, which made the poor guy hurry away, looking slightly scared.

K.C then smiled at Patsy and said, "Your aim is slightly off - here, let me show you."

He stood close behind Patsy, taking her hand with his own and lifting it up to take aim. He lowered his head so that it was right next to Patsy's, their cheeks almost touching. K.C breathed in the scent of her hair and felt slightly dizzy.

"Take a deep breath," he murmured in her ear. This of course had the complete opposite effect as Patsy caught her breath instead of exhaling.

"Relax your shoulders," K.C said, putting his other hand on her shoulder, squeezing it lightly. Patsy then slowly exhaled and let her shoulders drop a bit.

"Good, now try shooting."

Patsy jerked her hand, sending off a red lazer. It hit the target a little to the left. She let her hand drop, looking grave.

"I hate these things," she said, quietly enough for only K.C to hear, "They're disgusting."

"I know, Pats," K.C murmured, "Me too. But we have to play along. Just a bit longer."

Patsy nodded her head, knowing he was right.

"Just - keep practising," K.C said, then stepped back and went on his way down along the line.

They kept going the rest of the day until K.C decided it was enough for now. He dismissed them in the late afternoon, feeling the ache and tiredness in his body. With slow heavy steps he made his way back to his room, where he took a long, warm shower to loosen the knots in his shoulders and soothe his sore muscles. When he was drying himself afterwards, he looked at himself in the mirror and grimaced. Large bruises of yellow, dark purple and red colour were all over his upperbody, where Ved had hit him. They were sore but healing.

He put on clothes and then left his room to go find Patsy. He knocked at her door and waited. When she opened it and saw K.C a smile broke out on her face, "Hi, K.C."

"Hey. Can I come in?"

"Yeah sure," Patsy said and stepped aside to let him in, "What's up?" she asked when she had closed the door behind him.

"Nothing much, I just wanted to check in - you seemed distressed ealier, when we were practising shooting."

Patsy's face fell, "I just hate those zappers," she said and looked disgusted, "I hate weapons that can kill that easily." She stepped closer to K.C, "I mean, look at what they did to you," she said, talking about the lightening shaped scars they had left on K.C's body.

"I hate them too," K.C said darkly. He could still remember the searing pain all too clear, "Jay asked me to show you and the others how to use it. It's part of the training programme of new recruits, and I had to play along, so he won't be suspecious."

K.C looked at Patsy. He couldn't help but feel guitly about working for the Technos - even though it was only pretent. He stepped closer to her and took both of her hands in his.

"We'll find some way to defeat them - soon, I promise." He looked her intensely in the eye, wanting her to trust in him.

"Okay," Patsy said, returning his stare. K.C then let go of her hands and stepped back a little, not wanting to make Patsy uncomfortable by his sudden intensity and closeness. He looked away and cleared his throat. Then he carefully changed his expression into a much lighter, cheerier one and looked at her again.

"We never did finish that last one book. I really want to hear to ending. Are you up for it tonight?"

"Oh, uhm," Patsy said and looked troubled. She bit her lip for a few seconds, then said, "Sorry K.C - I already made plans with Tyler tonight."

The caveman inside K.C awoke with a start. He roared out in animal rage, preparing for battle. K.C shoved him back inside his cave. He felt crushed. He'd thought that he and Patsy had gotten quite close over the past few weeks. He had even thought they had had a moment, down in the gym, when he had taught her selfdefense. But maybe it was only him that had had a moment. Maybe he was just imagining things.

"Oh," he choked out, "Okay, fine. Great. Yeah."

He then cleared his throat again and put great effort into sounding nonchalant, "That's alright - we'll do it another time."

"Yeah, absolutely," Patsy said with a small smile.

"Well, I'll leave you to it then," K.C said and went for the door. He opened it and then turned halfway around, and saying over his shoulder, "You two...have a nice night." Then he fleed out the door and back into his room, where he let the caveman out and punched a hole in the wall.


	27. Chapter 27

27

Jay stood looking at his chart board. He had been reading the same line again and again, not seeming to be able to concentrate. It was only yesterday that Ebony had surprised him by kissing him. She had reached up and pushed those red, gorgeous lips of hers gently against the corner of his mouth. A slow smile spread on Jay's face at the thought and his hand moved up automatically to lightly touch his lips.

"What's this?" A voice suddenly said next to him. Jay snapped his head up and saw Ved who was looking at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Daydreaming on the job, are we big brother?"

Jay cleared his throat and straightened up, pushing out his chest, "I was just...thinking - you should try it sometime."

He turned away from Ved's scrutinizing eyes and started walking over the sunny courtyard. Unfortunately, Ved followed.

"Personally," he said, running slightly to keep up with Jay, "I think it's a good look on you. It means you have emotions - I was starting to seriously doubt that."

Jay sighed, "Was there something you wanted, Ved?" He was starting to get on his nerves.

"What? Do I need an excuse to see my older brother?" Ved said, grinning mischievously, "It's been a while since we talked."

Jay stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Ved. He was being waaay too cheery - not his normal sulky self - and Jay found it deeply disturbing. Something was up.

"Okay little brother - let's talk," Jay said, crossing his arms, "Are you gonna tell me what happened the other day?"

"What day?"

"The day I found you and K.C in some kind of primitive state? Like cavemen." He said this with raised eyebrows, to show his utter contempt.

"Oh...that," Ved said hesitantly, looking down.

"Yes that."

"Momentary insanity?" Ved tried, but Jay wasn't appreciating his humor. He just looked at him, eyelids half-closed in a glower.

"Look, there was some stuff going on, that needed sorting out," Ved then said.

"And you decided that using your fists was the best way to do it?"

Ved just shrugged, "What's done is done. I can't undo it." He then saw Jay's unimpressed scowl, "But for what it's worth, I'm not particulary proud of it. And I apologised to K.C. We're okay now."

Jay sighed, "Good. I can't have my men fighting amongst themselves. You know that."

Ved nodded quietly.

"What were you fighting over anyway?"

Ved chewed on his cheek for a few seconds, before answering, "A girl."

"Cloe?" Jay asked. He wasn't intirely blind. He noticed things - even when people thought he didn't. Ved looked down and nodded.

"And?" Jay pressed.

"And it turned out to be a misunderstanding," Ved admitted, "She wanted me the whole time." A wry smile spread on his face.

Jay smiled back at him. The idea of his little brother being in love pleased him. Maybe a girl would have a positive effect on him, lead him in the right direction.

Just then something caught Jay's eye behind Ved. Smith came walking in their direction. He was all beat up, blacked eyed and bandaged around his head. As he walked past them, Jay grabbed his arm.

"What happened to you?"

Smith stopped and but didn't look at him when he mumbled, "Nothing...I was..." Then he suddenly looked up at Jay with wild eyes, "I was attacked!"

Jay was shocked, "By who?"

"Some fella - a virt. I don't know his name. He just attacked me! Completely unprovoked!"

Jay somehow doubted that - Smith was known to attract trouble just by breathing.

"I barely got away. We have to find him and delete him! He's dangerous!"

"Alright, hold on," Jay said, not taking the bait and flying into action right away, "I need some more details."

"Maybe the surveillance cameras caught it?" Ved volunteered. Smith looked uncomfortable by this suggestion, which didn't go unnoticed by Jay.

"I - it doesn't matter," he stuttered, "The guy's probably miles away by now."

Jay frowned at his sudden turnaround, "I thought you said to find him?"

"Nah, don't waste resources on it," Smith said, edging away, "I'll just find him myself and deal with him." Then he hurried on, and disappeared around the corner, leaving both Jay and Ved with furrowed brows.

"That was a little weird," Ved said, looking at the corner which Smith had just fleed around.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Jay agreed.

"Smith - innocent? That's a first," Ved said with a small laugh. Jay shook his head and then shrugged it off. He really hadn't got time for Smith's dramas. He had more important things to worry about.

"There's a wagon with food supplies coming in at any moment. Will you take care of that?" he asked Ved who, for once, agreed without any protests. Jay walked away, both happy with this new change in Ved - and a little worried.

—

Ebony walked into the Techno area with a little apprehension. She was a bit worried to run into Smith, not knowing how he would react - or more important, how she would react herself. She couldn't show her fear - it would be a sign of weakness. But truth was - she was scared of him. This guy meant business. And his business was to kill her.

Slade had insisted on escourting her from the cabin, through the highlands and all the way up to Techno territory, as far as he could go without being seen. He had only reluctantly let her go the last bit of way, afraid too, that Smith would be lurking in the shadows somewhere.

Ebony walked in through the gates of the courtyard and looked around. To her relief she saw Jay standing at the other end. She held her head high as she walked towards him. When she was near, Jay looked up and saw her and a smile appeared on his face.

"Ebony," he said with a small nod, aknowledging her presence. He then looked back at his chart board, writing something down, before flipping all the papers back in place and looking at her.

"What can I do for you today?" But before she had a chance to answer, Jay's gaze lifted to the bruises at the side of her head and the stitched-up gash on her forehead - then down to the strangle marks on her neck where they lingered with a horrified expression.

"What happened?" he asked, "Are you alright?"

"Well, don't ask me - ask your men," Ebony said, crossing her arms and looked disgusted, "I'm sure they can answer your question. Luckily I was able to fight him off."

Jay took a step closer to her, looking appalled, "A Techno did this to you?"

"Don't look so shocked, Jay," Ebony said, "This happens everyday - in the city."

This was true. Ebony heard rumours everday of technos harrassing and assaulting citizens, "Your men - are creeps." Jay looked both horrified and angry.

"If you insist on taking over our city - the least you can do is control your men, and do it peacefully," Ebony continued, pressing all the right bottons, "You told me you weren't the bad guys the first time we met. This proves otherwise."

"I will take care of this - I promise you that," Jay said solemnly. He stood for a few seconds, pondering - then his expression changed into pure rage as realisation hit.

"Smith…" he growled, "He did this to you..."

He turned around slowly - a murderous look on his face - and stalked off into the building, leaving Ebony outside.

"Ebony?" Someone beside her suddenly said. Ebony turned her head and her eyes flew open.

"K.C! Oh my god, is that you?" she asked, not quite able to believe how much he had changed since she last saw him. It hadn't been that long, but he had changed radically.

"I know - I don't look like myself," K.C said with a small smile.

"Cloe told me you were here - Patsy too."

"Yes."

Ebony lowered her voice and leaned in towards K.C, "She also told me why you are here and what you're doing. How's it going?"

"Too slow," K.C said with a sigh, "The security here is really heavy, so it's hard to snoop around too much."

"I know," Ebony agreed, "How about we join forces? Maybe it can speed the process up a little bit."

"Sounds good," K.C said.

"I'm working on Jay, and it's going really well, but I need someone on the inside. I've got Cloe reporting back to me on everything she can find out. But you're sneakier, K.C. I mean, you were able to fool the Guardian, make him believe you. Maybe you could do the same with Ram?"

"Maybe..."

"But be careful," Ebony warned, "Ram's no fool. And he's extremely dangerous."

"I know - believe me," K.C said darkly, "But I'll see what I can do. Next time you're here, come look me up - we'll exchange information."

Ebony nodded, "Take care K.C."

"You too."


	28. Chapter 28

28

Cloe needed to find Patsy. She was the only one she wanted to talk to right now. Patsy had always been the one who Cloe confided in - whenever she felt bad, it was Patsy who comforted her, and when Cloe had good news, Patsy was the first one she wanted to tell. It had been like that since they first met in kindergarden.

She went to Patsy's room, knocked and waited. There was no answer and Cloe felt severely dissapointed. She was tripping to talk to her sister-friend, so she ran down the hallway to check the computerrooms. Patsy was in neither of them. Cloe groaned impatiently and then sprinted towards the gym, where she flung the door open and barged in. There were a few Techno guys in there, who looked at her in surprise, and then annoyance. After scouting the room without any sign of Patsy (and neither of the others had seen her) Cloe left and walked upstairs, slightly discouraged.

She stopped to think for a while, trying to come up with an idea of where Patsy then might be. She started to walk slowly down the hallway, pondering. Maybe she was in K.C's room? She decided to go check and took off, almost running. As she rounded a corner, suddenly someone was right in front of her and she cried out in surprise.

It was Ved.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed, his hands flying up to shield himself automatically, and caught Cloe, before she could collide with him.

"Cloe! Slow down!" He laughed at her, the surprise and the whole situation in generel.

"Sorry," Cloe said and laughed too - it was more of nervousness than surprise. For some reason, looking at Ved right now made her utterly and totally nervous. Cloe had never had a boyfriend before, so this whole thing with Ved was completely new to her. She didn't even know if they were girlfriend and boyfriend as they hadn't talked at all since their kiss yesterday. Cloe stood there a little awkwardly. Were they supposed to kiss each other now in greeting? She didn't know how these things worked.

"Where are you going in such a rush?" Ved then asked, not letting go of her arms.

"I'm trying to find Patsy," Cloe said, the skin on her arms electric under his touch. She gulped. She wanted more than anything in the world to reach up and kiss him - but was too afraid of actual doing it. Instead she looked down at her feet.

"She's out back at the training fields," Ved said, finally letting go of her arms, "She's training with K.C and the other recruites."

Cloe's head snapped up with excitement. She soooo really needed to talk with Patsy - to talk things over and ask her oppinion.

"Good, great," she said, already edging away. Not because she wanted to get away from him, but because she wanted to get out of the awkwardness she was feeling, "I need to go."

Ved looked confused and slightly hurt, "Okay," he just said.

"I'll see you later," Cloe said and then turned around and almost ran out of there. It was only when she made it outside that she stopped and leaned back against the wall of the building, closing her eyes. She had been so awkward and nervous - it had felt almost like a total meltdown of her brain. She hadn't meant to run out on him like that. She had seen his hurt expression when she left, and now she wanted to run back inside and tell him sorry. In her mind, she was kicking herself for behaving this way. She would have to make it right by him later, she swore to herself. Right now she really needed Patsy. More than ever.

She ran around the building and headed for the training grounds, located in the far back of the area. Here she finally found Patsy, who was drying her sweaty forehead and neck with a towel. They were taking a small break.

_Perfect timing!_ Cloe thought, as she hurried over to her friend.

"Pats!" she breathed when she reached her, slightly out of breath from the running, "I need to talk to you!"

Patsy immediately looked worried at the urgency in Cloe's voice.

"Cloe! Is everything alright? What's wrong?"

"I'm fine, everything's fine," Cloe said quickly, "But I need to talk to you. Real bad."

Patsy was still looking worried, "Okay, I guess I can try and get out of here," she said and looked over at K.C who was talking to some Techno guards. She looked back at Cloe, "But I'll need your help."

Cloe nodded, understanding. The two of them walked over to K.C, where Cloe cleared her throat to get his attention. K.C turned around and looked surprised, first at Cloe, then Patsy, "Yes?"

"Sir," Cloe said, keeping it professionel for the sake of any eavesdropping Technos, "Ram's requested for Patsy's assistance. I was sent here to inform you."

K.C looked horrified. He wanted Patsy as far away from Ram as possible. The less contact they had the better. You could never know with Ram - he might get some sort of hysteria and take it out on the nearest unfortunate person.

"What? No, I-" he croaked without thinking, but then stopped himself. He quickly glanced at the guards and then cleared his throat and put on his professional face.

"Eh, I mean; We're in the middle of training. Can't it wait?"

Cloe sensed his worry, "I'm affraid he insists," she said, and then she discretely winked at him, to let him know it was okay and he shouldn't worry. This seemed to ease him a bit.

"I guess if Ram insists, then it's alright of course. Permission granted." He threw in a small smile at the end for their benefit. Cloe gave him a small nod of the head, then grabbed Patsy's hand and dragged her along over the fields and into the building, heading for Cloe's room. Here they sat down on the bed, panting from the running.

"Thanks for getting me out of there," Patsy said, when they had got their breaths, "I was dying back there."

"K.C working you hard?" Cloe asked.

"Like crazy! He's the devil." Patsy let herself fell back on the bed with a tortured moan. It wasn't many seconds before she sat back up, crossed her legs on the bed and looked at Cloe, curious, "What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"

Cloe looked down at her hands, absently tracing the patterns on her bedspread.

"I kissed Ved," she then said and a slow smile spread across her face as she thought back at the moment, "Or he kissed me first, and I kissed him back." She looked up and was surprised to see Patsy's smug face.

"Finally!" Patsy grinned and looked up to thank the heavens, "Took you guys long enough."

Cloe was shocked. Apparently both Patsy and K.C had known about her and Ved - even before Cloe herself did. Had it been that obvious?

"How long have you've known?" she asked, feeling quite slow.

Patsy rolled her eyes, "Since I got here. It's been so obvious! All the bickering and fighting. You were starting to sound like an old married couple."

Cloe smiled and looked down again, feeling a little imbarrassed at her own blindness. Had she been the last to know? That was so silly.

"Soooo?" Patsy then asked, lowering her head slightly to meet Cloe's eyes.

"So what?"

"How was it? The kiss I mean."

Cloe's heart started pounding at the thought of the kiss and a wry smile appeared on her face.

"It was amazing," she said and immediately felt that 'amazing' didn't give the feeling justice. It was too weak a word for describing how it'd felt to kiss Ved, "It was...fantabulous!"

Patsy laughed in delight over her friend's obvious joy and Cloe was so relieved that she had Patsy's support. She hadn't been intirely sure how her friend would react to this - with all the bad blood between Ved and K.C. And Ved being the enemy and all.

"So what happens now?" Patsy asked, grabbing a pillow, putting it on her lap and hugging it.

Cloe chewed on her lip and looked hesitantly at her friend. This was why she needed to talk to Patsy - she had no idea.

"I...I don't know." She looked down again, "I mean, I've never had a boyfriend before. I don't even know if he is my boyfriend or what we are."

"You should just go talk to him," Patsy said simply, "Just ask him."

"I can't," Cloe said, thinking of their last encounter and how that had ended.

"Why not?"

Cloe closed her eyes and swallowed, "I think I did something terrible," she said, quietly. Patsy was instantly worried, and put one hand on Cloe's shoulder, "Tell me."

"When I was looking for you earlier, I ran into Ved - like literally _ran_ into him. And he caught me, but then he didn't let go of my arms - like he wanted to kiss me - but then I froze! I sooo wanted to kiss him, but I just totally froze!" She hid her face in her hands, "And then I practically ran out on him," she mumbled into her palms. She finally looked up at Patsy, horrified at herself.

"Oh Patsy, he looked kinda hurt. I think he thought that I was running from _him_, but I was just so nervous and awkward - I just had to go find you and talk to you."

Cloe had said all this very fast, like she just wanted to get it all out and get it over with - like ripping off a bandaid quickly.

"It's alright Clo," Patsy said soothingly, "Breathe."

Cloe took a deep breath and felt her body relax a bit. But she couldn't quite shake the feeling of guilt off of her, "What if he doesn't want to talk to me?"

"I think you're overreacting," Patsy said. But Cloe wasn't paying attention. She'd suddenly had a terrible thought and looked up at Patsy, troubled.

"Maybe the kiss meant nothing to him," she said, her heart plummeting 300 feet down to the pit of her stomach.

"What if I'm reading too much into it and he's like - 'don't flatter yourself, Cloe - it was just a kiss'." She imitated Ved's voice very convincingly.

"You just said he looked kinda hurt," Patsy pointed out, surprised at the 180 degree turn in the conversation.

"Yeah I know, but maybe I was just imagining things. Maybe he was actually relieved that I ran?"

"Cloe," Patsy said with great sisterly patient in her voice, "_Go talk_ to him. Now."

"But-"

"Off you go!" Patsy said, getting off the bed and grabbed Cloe by the arm. She pulled her off of the bed too and gave her a gentle push towards the door.

"And don't come back until you've talked to him." Patsy sat back down at the bed and crossed her arms, "I'll be here - waiting to hear every detail when you come back." She winked at Cloe.

Cloe swallowed nervously, but managed to sent her friend a strained grimace, meant to be a smile. Then she turned, almost like a zombie and walked out of the door.

The way down the corridor to Ved's room was paved with anxiety and dread. She was so nervous as to what mood she would find Ved in and how he would react to her. And she was scared to death that she was right in her assumptions about his disinterest in her. That would be devastating.

She took the final three steps up to his door very slowly. And then she stood there, frozen for a long time, until she eventually shook her head and decided that she was being ridiculous. It was all Ved's fault, she concluded - he was simply making her crazy!

She raised her hand to knock on his door, but before she could, the door suddenly opened and Ved appeared. He looked surprised to see Cloe there, not expecting anyone to be standing outside his door.

"Hey," he said, letting his hand fall from the handle down his side. Cloe couldn't read his expression - it was completely neutral. This made her panick a little.

"Hi," she said, her voice slightly trembling, "Can we talk?"

Ved stood for a minute, hesitating (the longest minute in Cloe's entire life!), then he moved aside, to let her in. Cloe walked in and sat down on the couch - her old bed. Ved closed the door behind her and then walked slowly towards her. He stopped a few feet from her, his face still neutral and expressionless as he looked down at her. Cloe looked down at her hands, unable to look him in the eye.

"I'm sorry about earlier this morning," she mumbled.

"I'm not sure what you mean," Ved said. There was just a touch of frost in his voice. It made Cloe look up at him.

"When we bumped in to each other in the hallway and I ran."

"What about it?"

Cloe screwed up her eyes slightly. The coldness in his voice revealed that he wasn't entirely unaffected. But apparently he was going to pretent he didn't give a rat's ass. So – was he going to make her spell it out to him? She suspected it was some sort of punishment.

"I didn't mean to run away in a hurry like that. I was just...uncomfortable."

She immediately saw that it had been the wrong thing to say, as Ved's perfectly composed expression cracked and was, for the slightest of a second, replaced by hurt - then, faster than the speed of light, turned into a hostile scorn.

"Well I'm sorry if I make you uncomfortable," he snapped, "May I suggest, next time you keep your distance?"

Cloe was taken aback by the hostility in his voice, and quickly tried to explain what she'd meant, "I didn't mean to say that _you_ make me uncomfortable - I meant, the _situation_ made me uncomfortable."

"What's the difference?" he shot at her, along with an angry glare, then looked away.

Cloe was now shocked. She had come here to explain and make it right by him - but he was determined to take her words and twisting them. And she was slowly starting to get angry too.

"There's a huge difference!" she said, finding that she was beginning to hiss herself.

"What does it matter anyway?" Ved snapped, stalking over to the door and opening it, "Was there a point to this visit?" He held the door open, indicating for Cloe to leave.

Cloe grinded her teeth in aggitation. He wasn't going to be rid of her until she had explained and made him understand.

"I'm trying to explain!" she said and got up in a flash, "But you won't let me!"

"Oh I hear what you are saying," Ved said, aggressively shoving the door shut with a bang, "I get it, okay!"

Cloe felt frustrated and misunderstood, "What is wrong with you!" she shouted, walking over to him with angry tramps.

"You tell me!"

"You're impossible!" Cloe yelled at him, clenching her fists in anger.

"You made that clear," Ved snapped back. He stared sullenly the other way.

"I can't ever win with you," Cloe said, frustrated, and shook her head in resignation. She felt like giving up right there and now and just flee out the door. But something was making her stay.

"Sorry to disappoint you." Ved kept his voice icy cold and sarcastic. He was still looking away when he said, "Anything else?"

Filled with frustration, disappointment and anger, Cloe had had enough. This was the last drop. The pain of his hostility and coldness made her lose her temper completely.

"Goddammit Ved!" she shouted, "Can't you see? I love you, you idiot!"

Dead silence followed her outburst. Both Ved and Cloe was equally surprised by this declaration. But Cloe immediately felt that it was true. She had never been more sure about anything in her life. She loved Ved. Deeply and desperately.

Ved stood frozen, looking at her, completely forgetting to look resentful. Then he stepped over to her, grabbed her upper arms and pulled her closer to him. Cloe blinked a few times, surprised at his sudden action. Then, simultaneously, they crashed together in a heathed kiss. Ved instantly wound his arms around her and kissed her hungrily, holding on to her like he was never letting her go.

They kissed for a long time and when they finally broke apart, they were both slightly out of breath. Ved looked down into those deep, brown eyes and felt himself drown in them. She was so beautiful with her smooth olive skin, sparkling hazel eyes and the straight black hair, falling in cascades around her face.

It was only reluctantly that he removed his arms from around her, and only to immediately grap her hand and lead her to his bed. They both knew that they needed to talk. So much had been going on between them, that they felt it was necessary to talk some things through.

Ved climbed into his bed and seated himself with his back against the headboard. He stretched his arms out towards Cloe, who climbed up to him and snuggled into his arms. It was easier sometimes, to talk when you weren't looking at each other - in case some things unpleasant needed to be said. Cloe was the brave first one to speak.

"This is so new to me," she said quietly, taking Ved's hand and entwining their fingers. She felt a rush of joy - it felt so naturel and right. She brought their linked hands up to her mouth and kissed his fingers delicately.

"I've never had a boyfriend before," she said, glad that she didn't have to look Ved in the eyes, "And I don't know how it works - that's why I was so awkward this morning."

Then she suddenly wanted to hit herself over the head, "Not that I see you as my boyfriend!" she said quickly, afraid that she was making assumptions, "I-I mean...I don't know what we are...I guess we need to talk about that, huh?"

She heard Ved chuckle softly, "I guess we do."

In her mind, Cloe rolled her eyes at herself. Why was she so awkward and nervous? She felt like such a spaz. "Have you ever had a girlfriend?" she then asked quietly, and immediately felt that she was nervous about his answer.

"I have," Ved said, nourishing her dread, "But not anyone I liked as much as I like you."

_Good answer_, Cloe thought and smiled to herself. It made her feel a little better. But there was a gnawing feeling in her stomach, as she wondered aloud, "Do you think this is gonna work? You and me. I mean, we fight and yell at each other all the time."

She felt Ved's body tense and she knew that he had been thinking the same thing too. He didn't answer for a little while, seeming to put a great deal of thought into his answer.

"I know-" he said and then had to clear his throat, "I know I'm being a jerk towards you sometimes - and I'm sorry." He buried his head in her hair, "It's just - I like you so much, it's making me go a little crazy sometimes."

Cloe thought about this for a while. To that she could relate. She had been acting crazy herself around him at times. They hadn't known how to deal with their feelings and the fear that the other didn't feel the same way. Now they knew - knew that they wanted to be with each other. The rest they would figure out together.

"The mere thought of you together with K.C or _anyone_ else, it just made me lose my mind with jealousy," Ved continued, unconsciously tightening his arms around her.

"I was never with anyone else," Cloe said, "I was always just with you - in my heart."

Ved kissed her hair softly. They sat like this for a long time, just enjoying each other's warmth and scent and the feeling of their bodies together.

"I wish we'd just talked sooner," Cloe said after a while, "Think of all the time we could have been together."

"And all the fights we could have avoided," Ved added and laughed a little.

"That too," Cloe grinned. She lifted her head to look up at Ved, "I'm glad we talked."

Ved returned her gaze, "Me too." Then he reached down and kissed her softly. It sent Cloe's heart into a flutter. Oh she could get used to this. In fact, she needed nothing else. Ever.

All too soon Ved broke apart and smiled down at her. He was so gorgeous when he smiled, it made Cloe dizzy. She rested her head back on his shoulder, snuggling into him and kissed the hollow of his throat. She felt his body shudder slightly.

"Cloe?" he then said.

"Hmm?"

"I love you too."


	29. Chapter 29

29

There were boxes everywhere. K.C had just recieved a truck-full of computers and computer equipment, that needed unpacking and sorting. They had all been carried down into one of the many stock rooms in the basement and now K.C was trying to figure out where to put them all. He had asked Patsy to help him, and it was just the two of them down there.

"Please be careful with those," K.C said as Patsy opened a box and looked inside it. It held computer screens. "Ram's gonna have my head if any of them breaks!"

"Uuuuh, I'd better be careful then," Patsy grinned, "Life's just sooo much easier with your head attached."

K.C laughed and threw a handful of loose fill chips at her.

"Hey!" she mock protested, but then laughed.

"So how was you night last night?" K.C asked trying to sound casual, while pretending to concentrate on something at the bottom of his box, "Did you guys have fun?" He'd been dying to ask all day, but had waited for the right moment, when they were alone.

"Yeah, it was fun," Patsy said. K.C could see from the corner of his eye that she was looking at him. He was working very hard to keep his expression light and nonchalant. There was a short silence, as Patsy kept looking at him.

Then she said, just as lightly and casually, "We're eating junk food and watching a movie tomorrow."

K.C just nodded with polite interest. Meanwhile, the caveman in his mind swung his wooden club wildly over his head, while roaring in a frenzy of rage. To distract himself, K.C picked up a box to put it away.

"He's just so funny," Patsy said, "He's a funny guy."

K.C's lips were pressed into a hard line now and he was clenching his teeth. He walked back to pick up another box.

"He's young, but mature for his age," Patsy continued.

"Uh-huh," K.C said, feeling his heart threathening to rip apart. His hands were slightly trembling and he tried to steady his strained breath.

"K.C?"

"Yes?" K.C said curtly. He was still holding a box, which he was grateful for, as it kept his hands steady.

"Are you ever gonna kiss me?"

K.C's head snapped up in surprise. He stared at her, not quite sure he'd heard right.

"'Cause I think I've been quite patient," Patsy said and then grinned at him, "But now I'm not anymore."

K.C dropped the box at the nearest table, computerscreens be damned. He sprung over a table that was standing in his way and stopped right in front of Patsy. She looked up at him with sparkling eyes. Then K.C wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her off of the ground into a kiss. She put her arms around his neck, clinging to him.

The kiss was long and sweet and yearned for. It was severel minutes before K.C gently put Patsy back down to the ground. Her legs gave way slightly underneath her, so he held on to her. She chuckled nervously.

"I wanted to kiss you for ages," K.C said softly as a slow wry smile spread on his face, "I just couldn't pluck up the courage to do it."

"I noticed," Patsy teased. She flashed him a sly smile, reached up and brushed her lips against his. Then she hugged him tightly. It felt so right, having her snuggling up in his arms. He leaned his cheek on her head, as they stood in a warm embrace for a while.

"What about Tyler?" K.C asked after some time. Patsy looked up at him and her face broke into a smile.

"He's just a friend," she assured him, putting her chin against his chest while looking up at him.

K.C felt his heart swell. He had nothing to worry about, "Good."

"How about I come over tonight? I'll read you the ending of that book."

K.C smiled down at her, "Sounds perfect."

—

Later that day K.C raided the food storage, taking some fruits, creamed rise, a loaf of bread with some cheese and chocolates, plus juice, and sneaked them back into his room. He'd found some candles in the basement stockroom and put them onto his window sill and at the dresser - not too many though, as he didn't want it to be corny or too much. That wasn't really him. Just a few, to bring a good atmosphere.

A soft knock at his door sent his heart fluttering as he knew it would be Patsy. He jumped ud and leaped to the door. There, he hesitated, closed his eyes and took a deep breath to steady himself. He smoothed his expression into a calm and collected one as he opened the door and greeted Patsy. The air was almost knocked out of him when he saw her. She was so beautiful. And she was his.

He stepped aside to let her in and then closed the door after her, already giving up trying to control his fluttering heart.

"Wow!" Patsy said as she saw the food laid out on his bed, "Look at all this food!" She laughed delighted, "There's enough to feed a whole army!"

K.C put a hand on the back of his neck, "I might have gone a little overboard," he admitted with a small selfconcious laugh.

"It looks great," Patsy said and turned to smile at him.

"Maybe we can invite Cloe and Ved over later? I'm sure they can help us getting through some of it," K.C said. Patsy sat down at the edge of the bed and looked at the food.

"Yeah, that could be fun. Have you and Ved burried the hatchet?" She looked up at him with her big hazel eyes.

K.C went to sit next to her, "Yes. He's actually a really nice guy," he said, then rolled his eyes, "once you get underneath all that hostility."

Patsy laughed and agreed with him.

"I heard they kissed yesterday," K.C said, smiling smugly.

"Yes. About time, don't you think?" Patsy grinned.

"God, yes! He's been pining for her forever."

"I know the feeling," Patsy then said softly, gazing into K.C's eyes. She leaned in and kissed him softly. It sent K.C's heart into a galop. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her onto his lap. He took in the taste of her lips and the sent of her hair, feeling like he was drowning in her.

After a while, Patsy gently pulled back and smiled down at him, "Ready for that ending?"

K.C nodded and Patsy slid off of his lap. She grabbed the book from the bookshelf while K.C sat back against the headboard of the bed. Patsy crawled onto the bed and snuggled into his arms. Here she opened the book and began reading while he was holding her.

When they had finished the last chapter, Patsy went out to get Cloe and Ved, while K.C got the food ready. He sliced the fruits with his pocket knife and went into the kitchens to get spoons and plates. When he came back the other three were already there, sitting on his bed, chatting.

"Hey," K.C said when he entered, walking over to the bed and handing each of them a plate and a spoon. They ate and talked and laughed, like they had been friends forever. It all felt very natural and easy. Even Ved was on his best behavior, joking and talking cheerfully. When they had all filled their stomachs, they watched a movie on a laptop that Ved had brought.

It was over midnight when Ved and Cloe bade them goodnight and left. Patsy stayed for another movie, but it wasn't long before she snoozed off, not able to keep her eyes open. When the movie ended K.C gently shook her awake.

"Pats?" he said softly, "Wake up, the movie's ended."

Patsy stirred and slowly opened her eyes, "What time is it?" she asked groggily, sighed deeply and closed her eyes again.

K.C looked at his digital watch, "It's almost two a.m."

"Hmm?" Patsy said, not intirely awake. She snuggled in closer to him. K.C smiled at her and shook his head slightly.

"Hey sleepyhead," he said, "You're falling back to sleep."

"I'm so sleepy," Patsy mumbled into his chest, "Can't I stay here tonight?"

"Yeah, sure, of course," K.C said, delighted. He didn't want her to go - knew that if she did he would miss her and think about her all night, not get one second of sleep. Now they could cuddle and fall asleep in each others arms and wake up together in the morning.

He gently moved Patsy's arms away from his torso and got off of the bed. He took the laplop from the bed and put it away onto his dresser, then blew out all the candles. He shrugged out of his clothes except his boxers and then put on a t-shirt so he wasn't so 'naked', not wanting to make Patsy uncomfortable by the lack of clothes.

He then went into bed and crept under the covers, lying on his back. Patsy, who still had all of her clothes on, was almost asleep again. She rolled over onto her stomach, laid her head on K.C's shoulder and wrapped an arm around his torso. She snuggled her face into his chest and fell asleep right away. K.C wrapped both his arms around her and held her tight. He kissed her hair, whispered goodnight and shut his eyes. Soon they were both asleep, happy and content in each others arms.


	30. Chapter 30

30

Ebony was sitting behind her desk at the hotel. She had fallen behind with some of her duties as the cityleader and was going through some paperwork. It was hard to concentrate though, as her mind kept sliding back to Slade and the wooden cabin. She hadn't seen him since he had dropped her off at the Techno headquarters yesterday. She would never admit it to anyone, but she missed him. She missed the feeling of his strong, protective arms around her and the taste of his lips, hungrily kissing hers. Ebony might seem like a tough cookie, but she was still a woman. And she loved a strong, handsome man.

A knock at her door pulled her out of her thoughts and she answered, a little annoyed, "Yes."

The door opened and one of her guards entered, "There's someone here to see you. A man," he said, stiffly.

Ebony's heart made a somersault, the image of Slade still fresh in her mind, "Let him in."

But it wasn't Slade, Ebony realised with a slight drop of heart - it was Jay.

She put on a brave face and smiled at him, "Jay! What a lovely surprise!"

She stood up and gestured for him to sit. He politely declined and Ebony sat back down in her own chair, "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Jay shifted uncomfortable and looked very serious, a slight frown forming on his forehead, "I've come to let you know that I've kept my promise to you and reprimanded my men. They will no longer be of any trouble to your citizens."

Ebony nodded appreciatively, "Good. I'm glad."

Jay gave a small stiff nod back. He was being strangely formal and frigid. Ebony got up and walked around the table, stopping right in front of him.

"And Smith?" she then asked quietly and looked up at him. His face hardened and his lips pressed into a tight line.

"I took care of him."

A shiver ran down Ebony's spine. Although Jay seemed like a good guy - a man of honour and righteousness - she wasn't in the slightest of doubt that he was certainly capable of 'taking care of someone'. For the first time since she'd begun her mission, Ebony was a little worried. She wondered how he would react if he knew she was taking him for a ride. She prayed she wouldn't ever find out.

Ebony walked over to her small bar table where she kept different alcohols in beautifully crafted glass decanters. She poured herself a glass of whiskey.

"Do you want one?" she asked over her shoulder, holding up the glass for Jay to see. She needed him to relax a bit.

After a moment of hesitation, Jay said, "Just a small one, thank you."

Ebony poured him an extra large one and handed it to him with a smile. He looked slightly dissaproving, but took the glass without a word.

"Please sit," Ebony said, holding out her hand towards the couch. Jay sat down and seemed to relax a bit. Ebony sat down next to him, holding up her glass, "Here's to working together."

"- peacefully." Jay added and they clinked glasses. They both took a sip.

"Ebony," Jay suddenly said, gravely, "I'm sorry about what Smith did to you. It was a disgusting action, that I won't allow under my command. It will never happen again. You have my word."

Ebony looked up at him through her eyelashes and smiled slightly, "Thank you," she said softly.

"You're welcome."

They shared a tender gaze, then Jay looked down into his glass, which he held in his lap. Ebony smiled at the obvious effect she had on him. She could see the emotion in his face, which he of course tried to hide, being the controlled man that he was. But Ebony could see it there - she had mastered the ability to read people over the years. Now was her chance to work on him.

"Jay," she said, in her most seductive voice, "I really like you. You're a good man. Respectable and honest."

Jay looked up at her, surprised by the sudden change in conversation. He looked very pleased.

"I like you too, Ebony," he said, a little akwardly and Ebony suspected he wasn't used to talk about his feelings. As a general, you had to be cool and collected, sometimes harsh. And as a leader, Ebony knew that.

"So why are you with a Tribe that is anything but those things?" She took a risk saying this, but she had to plant a doubt in his mind that would hopefully make him change alliance.

A slight frown appeared on Jay's forehead and he seemed to debate something in his mind, "We've been through this, Ebony," he then said with a very serious face. He gazed down at her with dark and dangerous eyes, "I told you: This city needs hospitals and schools - Ram's the key to that."

"I want that too," Ebony said, reaching over and taking his hand, "We _need_ those things in this city. But what we don't need, is people like Ram."

Ebony released the full power of her mesmerizing eyes on him, "We need people like _you_, Jay, to lead us on the way to a better world. If you and me joined forces, we could take over the whole Techno show. Together we could make this city great."

Jay said nothing, but just sat there and looked dark and somber. He hadn't pried his hand free from hers, Ebony noticed and was pleased. He just let her hold it lightly.

Ebony took advantage of that, leaned towards him and grabbed both of his hands, "Don't tell me you haven't imagined that senario. I know I have."

"I...might have," Jay admitted very hesitantly, slowly raising his gaze to Ebony, "But it doesn't change anything," he then said, and Ebony felt disappointment rush over her.

"I still believe that Ram is important to the operation. He's a genius and I need a man with his skills."

Ebony knew when to stop. She had done what she intented - to plant a little bit of doubt in Jay's mind. She could only hope it would linger there and eventually grow. So she just smiled sadly, then let go of his hands and leaned back with a small shrug of the shoulders, "I see."

She made herself look very disappointed as she knew that would bother Jay. He looked at her with pained eyes, but didn't say anything.

"Would that be all?" Ebony then asked, slightly coldly, taking his half empty glass from him and got up. She turned her back on him and walked over to the bar table where she put down the two glasses. She could hear the couch squeak as Jay got up too.

She turned around to look at him and was surprised to find him stading directly behind her. She gasped softly and looked up at his face - it was dark and pained. He stared down at her intensely.

"I might not agree to your suggestion of us working together against Ram," he said quietly and then looked down at the ground, taking a shaky breath, "But that doesn't mean I haven't imagined you and me."

His intense gaze came back to her face, pacing from her eyes to her lips. Then, ever so slowly, he raised both his hands to her face and cupped it, then leaned down and lightly brushed his lips against hers. It was soft and brief and a little hesitant, like he was afraid to be pushed away. He then let go of her face, smiling a little.

It wasn't often that Ebony felt uncomfortable and not on top of the situation. She had been taken off guard. After a few moments of hesitation, as she rummaged her head for something to say, she just stammered, "But-but do you trust him? Ram... I mean, he isn't exactly on top of my list of reliable people."

"Not quite," Jay said and Ebony looked at him, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"I've been...used before...for other people's own evil agenda. I've been a puppet, blinded by false promises and pretenses. Somewhere down the line, you learn not to trust anyone. I don't even trust Ved - my own brother." He gave a small laugh and shook his head slightly at himself. Then his gaze found its way back to Ebony, "Right now, you're the only one I truely trust."

Ebony felt a sharp pang of guilt. Here he was, despite his distrust and suspiciousness, defying all of his doubts and insecurities, opening up his heart to her. He had chosen, against his own better judgement, to trust her. And she was betraying this trust.

Ebony had betrayed people's trust before without even blinking. It had never bothered her before - she just saw it as a necessity on her way to power. But something had changed inside Ebony. She had become...softer, less selfless. When and why, she couldn't say - she could just feel it.

After Jay had left, Ebony made her way out of the city and climbed the hills in the highlands. She had a deep frown on her face. Jay had turned out to be a really decent guy, who Ebony actually respected. Not many people had Ebony's respect - she was a hard lady to impress.

The more she got to know Jay, the harder it was to keep up a pretense, knowing how she was fooling him around. She had especially felt bad when he had unexpectedly kissed her. It hadn't been the plan for him to fall this hard for her. She only wanted his admiration and maybe a little crush. Guys usually didn't fall for her - they merely was fascinated by her beauty, her wits and her power. But Jay had seen something more in her. Something he loved.

When Jay had kissed her, Slades face had kept appearing before her eyes. This was harder than she had imagined. She hadn't planned for someone like Slade to come in and sweep her off her feet, making it more difficult for her to work on Jay. She hadn't expected love to come and mess up the whole operation. She hadn't been prepared for this love.

She was pondering all the way out to the small wooden house that belonged to Slade. Her heart swelled as she approached it hastely, almost running. She couldn't wait till she was in Slade's arms again and prayed to god that he was home.

She didn't get a chance to pray for too long, as the door swung open before she had reached all the way there, and Slade greeted her with that gorgeous wry smile of his. He looked particulary cocky, leaning against the doorframe as he watched her approach him.

"Finally," he said, grinning, as she reached him. His eyes were sparkling with humor, "Would it hurt you to hurry a little?"

Ebony rolled her eyes of him and shook her head with a small smile, "Well I had some very important things to attend to."

"More important than this?" Slade said, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into a deep kiss. It lasted for a long while and Ebony forgot everything around her. It was Slade who eventually pulled away, smiling smugly down at her.

"It was Jay," Ebony blurted out without thinking and saw how the cocky smile on Slade's face faded and then evaporate completely. His arms fell limply down his sides. He then put on a brave face and tried to sound cheery, "Oh yeah?"

Ebony could see a hardness flashing in his eyes, that he wasn't able to supress.

"Yes. He came to see me," she said, looking away from his intense gaze. Slade walked backwards into the house and then turned around and went to the fireplace where he crouched down. He took the fire iron and tried to coax life into the weak fire, poking around the coals.

Ebony followed him inside, closed the door behind her and went to sit on the cushions layed out in front of the fireplace. She sighed in resign.

"What did he want?" Slade asked, taking a log of wood and putting it onto the awakening flames. They licked the wood and it made a cozy crackling sound. Ebony decided to just rip off the bandaid and get it over with.

"He kissed me."

Slade's frame froze for a second, the fire poker resting in the flames motionlessly. It was just for a second, then he started poking around in the coals with new intensity.

"Slade..." Ebony said to his back, willing him to look at her. He reluctantly put down the fire poker and turned around slowly, eyes averted. He looked like someone who knew he had no right to be angry, but couldn't help being it anyway.

"It didn't mean anything to me," she said and reached over to take his hand, entwining their fingers, "My heart belongs to you."

Slade's stiff posture relaxed a bit and his gaze finally found hers, "I'm sorry," he murmured.

Ebony reached over and put a hand on his cheek, then leaned in for a kiss. Slade returned the kiss with passion. At last he sighed against her lips and she pulled away, looking at him.

"I didn't mean to go all dramaqueen on you before," he said, looking down at their enlocked fingers, "I'm not usually a jealous guy. It's just - you do something to me. I lose all common sense." He gave a small laugh and shook his head at his own weakness. He lifted their entwined hands and kissed her fingers delicately, one by one.

"I understand that it must be kinda difficult for you," Ebony said softly, feeling a tinkling in her body as he proceeded to kiss her wrist and lower arm, "It's difficult for me too." She closed her eyes with pleasure, "That's why I can't do it anymore."

Slade stopped kissing her arm and looked up at her, surprise in his eyes. Ebony returned his gaze with a small smile, "I quit."

"Yeah?" Slade said, sounding tremendously pleased. Ebony smiled at his obvious relief.

"Yeah. It doesn't feel right anymore. So I'll stop. We can find another way to defeat them, right?"

Slade didn't answer. He took her other hand and kissed her palm. Ebony felt her heart go wild and gulped.

Slade looked at her with hungry eyes. In a second she was on his lap, kissing him deeply and passionately. His surprised arms hesitated for a second, then wrapped themselves around her and pulled her closer.


	31. Chapter 31

31

Ved couldn't remember the last time he had felt this happy. He hadn't felt this euphoric and at peace since before the virus – if ever – and it was all Cloe's doing. He couldn't quite believe his luck, that they had ended up together, not after all the fighting and bickering. Why Cloe still wanted him, despite all his shit, was a complete mystery to him – but he certainly wasn't going to start questioning it, afraid of bringing it to her attention and she would change her mind. That would absolutely kill him.

He was now sitting in one of the many computerrooms, but wasn't getting any work done, as he just sat there staring off into space and daydreaming about Cloe and her lips. It was not until Tyler urgently nudged him in the side, to snap him out of it, that he straightened up and removed that stupid smile he suddenly realised he had on his face.

They could hear the sound of Ram's wheelchair approaching and everyone quit their lazy postures and pretended to be very busy. Ram soon appeared in the doorway, wheeling his way over to a computer right opposite of Ved and began typing away at the keyboard.

"So," he said casually, after a while, "I hear you've been messing around with a virt."

Ved's head snapped up, his heart almost stopping. Was he talking about Cloe?

"You even brought her here," Ram continued, before Ved could come up with a reply. Ram looked disgusted at the thought of a virt being this close to his precious computers.

"That's right," Ved finally said, deciding that it was best to tell him the truth - well, most of it anyway, "But she's not a virt anymore. She's joined the Technos."

Ram still didn't look convinced, "Are you sure she's trustworthy?"

"Positive," Ved said, "I programmed her myself." _Sort of._

"Are you sure she didn't bring any..._deceases_ with her?" He automatically pulled out his white hankerchief and put it over his mouth, as if he was afraid he might get infected with some decease just by talking about it.

"I'm sure," Ved said, "I made sure she was clear of any deceases when I brought her." Of course, there was no way for him to do that, but Ram seemed satisfied with that answer.

"Good, good," he mumbled through the hankerchief, "Just make sure she's completely converted and fully committed to the cause."

He then waved Ved away with the other hand. Ved nodded and didn't waste one second as he fled out the door.

—

Ebony practically flooded up the hill towards the Techno Headquarters. She felt so happy and light after her night with Slade. It had been a long time since she had felt this happy and she wondered if she ever had. Ebony had never let a man inside her heart before – with the exception of Bray, who so carelessly stampered on it, not believing her when she'd said she loved him. After Bray, she swore she would never go down that road again, never wanting to feel that hurt and rejected again. But Slade had crept under her skin, without her permission, and found his way into her cold, reluctant heart. And she was absolutely terrified. But she was also excited and happy and optimistic. It was really very confusing feelings to have all at once.

As she approached the entrance she stopped and took a deep breath to calm herself down. She needed to be in total control of herself. Putting on a scornful grimasse, she walked right past the two guards and into the coolness of the huge building. She needed to find K.C so they could start their planning. This goddamn tribe was going down! And fast…

She went straight to room and knocked on his door. K.C opened the door and waved her in, sticking his head out to check if anyone saw them.

"Are we safe to talk in here?" Ebony asked as soon as K.C had closed the door.

"Yes. Just keep your voice down, just in case," K.C said and came to sit beside her in the bed. They stuck their heads together, "So have you come up with a plan?"

"I'm working on it," Ebony said, not telling K.C about her newfound doubts about fooling Jay, "We have to do this right the first time. We only have one chance. If we fail…" she trailed off, thinking about how both hers and life was in danger.

"I know. It's a risky job," K.C said quietly, reading her thoughts, "But a risk worth taking."

"Agreed."

"Maybe if we went behind enemy lines, found out more about Ram, maybe found out his weaknesses, we'd have a better shot at defeating him?" K.C said with a frown, a plan starting to form in his mind.

"That might work – but how?"

"Ram has a special computer, that no one is allowed to touch. He keeps it in his personal work room. If we could somehow get inside it and see if it holds any useful information..."

"It's a start I guess," Ebony said hesitantly, "Do you think it's possible?"

"Yeah. If we can just lure away the guards?"

Ebony sat thinking for a while. What would be the best strategy? She had always found that female cunning surpasses male understanding any day. She'd used it quite often. It was her favorite way of working, often leaving men confused or totally unaware of her scheming. She'd become quite skilled over the years. But these guards were of a totally different matter. They were fierce soldiers, trained to guard something of priceless value.

Maybe violence would work better this time? Surely they would fight back, even if it cost them their lives, but Ebony was a skilled fighter and K.C sure could hold his own. Maybe they had a chance at knocking them out. Maybe. Or maybe if she combined the two strategies…

"Okay, I've got a plan…"

Ebony filled K.C in on her plan and they planned to take action the next day after midnight. Ebony went back to Slade to fill him in and K.C filled Patsy in on their plan - only reluctantly agreeing to her taking part of it at all, due to the risks and dangers of it.

The next day at exactly midnight, Ebony distracted the guards at the main entrance while Slade slid in through the door unnoticed and waited for Ebony to follow. Once inside they ran to K.C's room as fast and as soundless as they could.

"Did anyone see you?" K.C asked Slade as he hastily closed and locked the door behind them. He looked a little apprehensive but determind at the same time.

"No, those idiots were so easy to distract, I can't believe they're actually letting them guard," Ebony snorted with a roll of the eye.

"Can't say I blame 'em," Slade said, smirking at Ebony, "You're very easy to get distracted by."

Ebony couldn't help but blush at his words and turned away, angry at her body's stupid reaction. She'd never let words affect her before, but somehow Slade's words did something to her that she couldn't control. To hide her discomfort (and euphoria) she ignored him and turned to K.C.

"Okay, we only have one shot at this. Are you ready?"

"Yes," K.C responded and went to rummage in his drawer. He pulled out a black hoodie and handed it to Slade, "Put this on and pull the hood up so they can't see your face."

Slade put the hoodie on and K.C and Ebony walked to the door.

"Wait," Slade suddenly said and grabbed Ebony's arm lightly. He turned her to face him while pulling her closer, "Be careful." He then reached down and kissed her swiftly knowing she wasn't very fond of public affectioness.

"You too," she muttered and then dissapeared out of the door with K.C. After making sure noone was around they ran quietly down the hallway and into an emtpy computerrom.

—

Patsy let out a long and quivering breath. She was really nervous and tried to calm her nerves by breathing slowly and deeply. When K.C had filled her in on the plan yesterday she'd been psyched and excited to finally do something – anything – to fight back againtst these creeps that had taken over their city and sent away their friends. She had slept soundly that night, knowing she was finally doing something useful and not just laying low.

But now that the action was about to start she was starting to feel anxious and, admittedly, a little scared. Ram was definitely not one to mess around with – he meant business. Lethel business. But she had promised K.C she would help them and she wasn't one to desert her friends. Even if it possibly cost her her life.

She heard K.C's door open and close and knew that he and Ebony had taken off to go hide in the computerroom. She waited a few minutes before she took one last deep breath before opening her own door and stepping outside on the corridor. She knocked once at K.C's door to let Slade know she was ready, then she found her way down the long corridor, past the room where she knew K.C and Ebony was hiding and rounded the corner.

Then she started yelling.

"Help! Please someone help!" She ran towards the two guards guarding Ram's computerrom and grabbed hold on one of them, "There's someone here – a virt! He was in my room," she yelled and threw in a few tears for their benefit, "I escaped but he's still here! Please, he tried to hurt me!" The guards looked alarmed, but hesitant, obviously at a lost of what to do next. Patsy could feel the panick start to spread in her stomach. What if they called her out? That would mean a one way ticket away from this world. But then she heard footsteps and then Slade appeared aound the corner, hoodie up so his face was in the shadows. He stopped short and stared at the guards for a few seconds – then took off in the opposide direction.

"There he is!" Patsy yelled and pointed at him, "That's him!"

The two guards took off after him and chased him down the corridor and into the computerroom. Patsy followed at their heel.

The computerrom was completely dark and Patsy could only see the silluettes of the two guards who had stopped short and was now stading looking around to try and find Slade. She knew she had to keep her distance, so she just stood in the door way and silently watched as K.C and Ebony snook up behind the guards and then knocked them out with bats. They fell to the floor immmediately and went still.

"Quick! Get in," Ebony barked and waved Patsy in. Patsy flew in and closed the door behind her and then turned on the lights so they could see. K.C and Slade had already removed the unconcious guards's headsets and tied their hands.

"Good job, babe!" K.C beamed, took Patsy in his arms and kissed her proudly.

"There's no time for that!" Ebony hissed while she and Slade dragged the two guards across the room and sat them against each other, back to back, "We need to hurry!"

"Right," Slade agreed, "Time for me to split." He swiftly put one hand on Ebony's cheek, carressing it with his thump before he bolted to the door and dissapeared out of it. The gentle gesture surprised Patsy, as she had never seen anyone do such a thing to Ebony and not loose their hand and wandered what was up with that.

"You too, Pats," K.C interupted her thoughts, "You need to go back to your room and stay there."

Patsy nodded, "Okay – be careful."

"I will," K.C promised and watched her hurry away.

"Quick, put this on," Ebony said, handing K.C a mask and then put one on herself. They had to make sure they weren't recognised on any of the cameras before they could destroy them. They hurried down the hall and around the corner where they stopped in front of Ram's private computerroom.

The door was locked, so K.C bashed the device on the wall with his bat and then kicked the door open with his foot. Once inside, they quickly sprayed black paint on the security cameras, so they couldn't be seen.

"So, you any good at these things?" Ebony asked while eyeing the computer. Ebony had many skills, but computer science sure wasn't one of them.

"Yeah, I can hold my own," K.C said. During his stay with the Technoes he had picked up a few things or two.

"Why hasn't he got any password on this computer?" he mused, as he got it started, "I could just go right in."

"Beats me," Ebony said, "Maybe he's too arrogant to think that anyone could ever get in here at all. That anyone would dare go against him."

"Yeah maybe," K.C mumbled, and then began typing away, looking into all the files that he thought could hold any information.

"So how's your work on Jay going?" K.C asked after a while, still looking at the computer screen, "Have you won him over yet?"

Ebony felt a sharp pang of guilt tugging at her chest, "It's going great," she said, not wanting K.C to know about this new weakness of hers - the guilt – not just yet. She had to come up with a better plan first.

"I have him wrapped around my littlefinger," she grinned, sticking out her littlefinger and wriggling it a bit, "I just have to convince him to come over to our side and help take down Ram." She was still hoping to get him to join them, she just had to find another way to convince him, not wanting to lead him on any more. He was a good man, and he deserved better than her lies.

"And what does Slade say about this?" K.C asked casually, still not looking at her. Or not daring. Ebony snapped her head up. How did he know about her and Slade? She sure hadn't told anyone. Maybe it was quite obvious to others. He _had_ caressed her cheek in front of them just minutes ago.

"Nothing obviously. It's no concern of his," Ebony answered coldly, ending that conversation with her tone.

They continued their work for a few more minutes, until K.C suddenly gasped.

"What, what?" Ebony exclaimed, sprinting to his side to take a look herself.

"This guy's more crazy than we thought," K.C said, breathlessly, "Look at this."

He leaned to the side so Ebony could take a closer look at the pictures he had found. They showed coal mines. And people. Lots and lots of dirty, worn down and sick looking people.

"You were in the coal mines, right?" Ebony asked.

"Yes I was. And it was bad, but it sure wasn't as bad as this. I mean, this is a whole new level. Look at them!" He looked absolutely horrified.

"And that's not all, look at this…" he found a new set of pictures, that showed people who were connected to all sorts of devices, "He's running all kinds of tests on people. Like they're guinea pigs. And he doesn't give a damn about what happens to them. Look at his own notes."

Ebony got closer and began reading the notes, that Ram had written. It sure didn't sound like he gave a rats ass about these people. Like they weren't even human beings and that they could easily be replaced, should they perish.

"He's totally sick!" Ebony exclaimed with disgust, "Looks like he's not only planning to take over this city – but the rest of the world!"

"We _have_ to stop him," K.C growled, "Think about these poor people. What if something like this is happening to our friends – Bray or Jack or Lex."

Ebony shuddered at the thought of someone hurting Bray. Or Jack. Or even Lex.

"I think we've pushed our luck long enough now," she then said and looked at her watch, "We've been in here far to long. Let's get out – while we still can."

K.C agreed, hastely turned off the computer and then followed Ebony across the room. They bolted out of the door, and sprinted down the hallway.

—

In the pitch black darkness, angry screwed-up eyes watched two figures croutching by a computer through the small hidden camera. He heard them whisper to each other, planning the downfall of his tribe. The anger wasn't the dominating feeling though – it was overshadowed by agonizing heartbreak and a feeling of absolute betrayal. As he turned off his computer, Jay swore he wouldn't ever let a woman screw with his mind again. And Ebony was going to regret it.


	32. Chapter 32

32

K.C and Ebony darted down the hallway, masks on, just in case. As they reached K.C's room they slowed down and removed their masks. They both felt euphoric and releaved, that their plan had suceeded without them being caught. K.C couldn't wait to get to his room to think things over – process the things he had seen on Ram's computer and come up with a plan to take him down. He probably wouldn't get much sleep tonight. There was just too many things to think about.

Ebony turned to face him, "Good job K.C. I always knew you had the guts to pull something like this off."

K.C felt honoured. Ebony didn't just throw around compliments to anyone. She only said them when she meant them. And that meant something to K.C.

"Thanks," he mumbled and felt his cheeks flare, "You too." Then they both grabbed each others lower arm in a victorious handshake.

"I'll see ya," Ebony said and then took off for the exit and dissapeared into the night. K.C opened his door and stepped into his dark room. He threw the masks into the bin and made a mental note to get rid of them in the morning. They were just regular Techno masks, so no one would suspect anything if they came looking, but he took no chances.

A light suddenly flickered on by his bedside table and the sudden light blinded K.C. He blinked a few times, confused, but then he saw a figure sitting on his bed. He had been so wrapped up in thoughts, that he hadn't noticed anything when he'd entered his room. The first thing that came to mind was that it must be Patsy sitting there waiting for him, but it quickly downed on him that this was not Patsy's beautiful features sitting there.

It was Jay. And he looked absolutely furious.

"Jay!" K.C squeaked surprised, then added more respectfully, "Sir." He held his hand to his temple in a salute to his suprior and stared stiffly straight ahead, while his heart raced in rising panic. Jay slowly got to his feet and strode over to K.C.

"Report your whereabouts this night," Jay demanded calmly. K.C tried to calm his heart so that his quivering voice wouldn't give him away.

"I was in the kitchens, sir. I woke up and found myself a bit hungry."

Jay seemed to consider this answer for a few moments, then began circling him slowly.

"And that's all? No detours?"

"No, sir."

Jay came to a stop right in front of K.C. "Then why were you spotted in Ram's personal computerroom?"

K.C's heart sank to his stomach. Crap. This was it. He's been seen. He wondered if they had recognised Ebony as well. He had to think of something quick. Lie lie lie!

"I thought I heard something. Someone screaming."

"And you didn't think to report it? Call for back-up?" Jay pressed.

"No, there was no one there. I didn't find it necessary to cause alarm."

The movement was so sudden that K.C had no time to react. Suddenly Jay's hands were gripping the collar of his shirt, pushing him back against the wall. One hand reached up and closed around his neck, squeezing.

"You're lying," Jay snarled viciously.

"No – I'm not," K.C croaked hoarsly. He had difficulty breathing.

Jay stuck his face all the way up in K.C's, "I saw you," he said with eerie calm, "You and Ebony."

K.C knew there was no sense in lying anymore. It was over. They'd failed.

Jay finally let go of K.C and stepped back. K.C fell halfway to the ground, coughing and sputtering from the lack of oxygen.

"I gave you the chance to come clean. But you continued to lie. You disrespected my trust," Jay said, standing still and looking at him with a dark expression, "It's a shame. You were one of my best men."

K.C couldn't care less about Jay's hurt feelings. All he could think about was if they had caught Patsy too. It made him absolutely sick to his stomach to think about it.

"Yeah well," K.C then said and straightened up, looking at Jay, "You're idiots to think we'd actually joined your pathetic little tribe."

Jay's face hardened further at his words.

"You have taken our loved ones, sent them away, leaving us desperate. Did you really think there would be no resistence?"

"We did it for the greater good," Jay countered, "I assure you they are all well."

K.C snorted, remembering the images he'd seen on Ram's computer. Then, it downed on him that maybe Jay had no knowledge of these things. He didn't strike him as a man that would approve of such things – not even for 'the greater good'.

"Are you sure you know everything that's going on?"

"Of course I do," Jay said rather confident.

"I sure hope not – because then you're not the man I thought you were. The things I saw on Ram's computer…" K.C shuddered at the images in his mind. The poor people. They sure as hell were not 'well'. When he snapped out of his thoughts he found that Jay was watching him, uncertainty clear in his face. K.C then decided to shift tactics and try to talk to the good heart that he knew beated in the Generals chest.

"What would you do," he said quietly, "If it was Ved?"

Jay shifted uncomfortably.

"What if someone had taken Ved away and you didn't know what had happened to him." He could see the words having the wanted effect. Jay looked very tense and uneasy.

"…not knowing if he was alive or dead."

Jay seemed to concider this for a while, but then his expression suddenly changed from uneasy to dark, "Good thing I'll never find out."

He put his hand on his headset and said, "Guards, enter." And in the next moment K.C's door flew open and three guards poured in, all pointing their stun guns at him.

"Seize him!" Jay ordered and two guards immediately grapped hold on each of K.C's arms, the third one still aiming at him. "Take him to the cells!"

K.C didn't wrestle. He knew he couldn't take out three guards and Jay all at once. So he just came quietly as they led him out of the door and down the hallway towards the basement - into an unknown fate.

—

Ebony breathed in the cold night air as she ran out into the dark. They'd done it. Their plan had been a success. Now they were one step closer to regaining control of the city and defeat the Technoes. They had found much useful information on Ram's computer. Various locations of the prisoners, future plans and those awful pictures and videos of the awful states that the people were in. She knew she could use that in her efforts to win Jay over. He couldn't have known about these things. Surely he would not approve. If she could somehow convince him that Ram was using unforgiving methodes on his way to power, he would switch over to their side and help them take Ram down. She was confident in their victiory now. Things were finally looking up.

She ran up the path leading away from the headquarters, to where her and Slade had planned to meet up. It was just behind those bushes, from where they had first laid eyes on the Technoes a few months ago. When she arrived she called softly into the night, "Slade?"

There were no sounds, only the creatures of the night who were softly buzzing in the nearby vegetation. Ebony began to worry. He should be here by now. Had he forgotten their plan to meet up? Maybe he had gone home to the cabin. She decided to go there and look.

But before she even had turned around to go, she was suddenly grabbed from behind by strong, stun gun armed hands. She let out a cry of surprise as she was spun around and faced by two Techno guards. They sneered as they began dragging her back towards the building, all the while ignoring her writhing and outraged protests. Her loud yelling bounched off the walls all the way through the halls and only stopped when one of the guards finally had had enough and smacked her across the face to shut her up. Ebony could taste blood in her mouth, and decided it was better to keep quiet – for now.

The big heavy door to the cells, that Ebony knew all too well squeaked as it opened and Ebony was harsly shoved down the small set of steps. She stumbled down them and was about to explode into a fit of screaming rage, when she saw him.

Slade. Beaten into a pulp on the cell floor.

She forgot all about her own rage and situation. She could only think of getting in there and help him. Her wiches were answered right away as she was shoved into the cage and locked up. She immediately fell to her knees beside Slade.

"Slade!" She cried out, "Oh my god, are you alright?" Her shaky hands brushed his hair out of his face so she could take a better look. He really looked beaten up, his handsome face all bloody and bruised.

"Please be alive," Ebony sobbed and tried to feel his pulse on the neck with shaky fingers. Slade then stirred, coughed hoarsly and then winced. His eyes fluttered open and fell on Ebony, and a weak smile appeared on his beaten face as he whispered, "Ebony."

"Shh, don't try to talk," she said softly, putting a hand on his cheek, "You're alright."

She sat down on the cold concrete floor and took his head in her lap. She let him sleep like this for a while, until her legs began aching. Then she carefully got up and got the cloth from the wash tub in the corner and began cleaning him up.

The sound of the door opening made her head snap up. K.C appeared escorted by three guards. They threw him into the cage to the other two and locked up, then dissapeared out of the basement again.

"K.C! They got you too?" Ebony said, "They must have seen us or something. Maybe there was a hidden camera somewhere…"

"We knew it would be risky," K.C said darkly, then glanced down at Slade, "Is he alright?"

All the commotion had woken up Slade. He tried to sit up, but then groaned in pain, clutching his side.

"Whoa man, you're really hurt," K.C said, kneeling down beside him as well and started examining his bruises.

"Can you help me get him to the bed?" Ebony asked, getting up. Together they managed, with some difficultly, to get Slade to the bed. Ebony sat down at the bedside and stroked his damp forhead.

"He's okay, he just needs rest."

They let him sleep for a few hours until he woke up, feeling a little better. He managed to sit up in bed and Ebony helped him drink some water from a bottle. It was still dark outside, only a thin ray of moonlight lit up the small cell.

"I'm so sorry I dragged you into this," Ebony said quietly, watching him wince with pain with each swallow of water.

"I'm not," Slade said hoarsly, "It's been a long time since I've been in a good fight." He smiled cockily up at her and Ebony smiled at this, "It's not been that long. Smith – remember?"

Slade's face immediately fell and he growled, "I want to _murder_ him." He looked glomily into the dark at the thought.

"He has been taken care of," Ebony said, remembering Jay's words. She wondered if the three of them would suffer the same fate and shuddered. Surely, Jay wouldn't harm them… would he? Or maybe it wasn't Jay she should be worried about. Ram was the dangerous one – the psychopath.

3 hours passed where nothing happened. Slade regained some of his strengh and was now able to get up and walking around a bit. Sun had started pouring in through the small cell window, when the door suddenly burst open and two guards came in. Ebony could hear the dreadful sound of Ram's wheels even before she could see him and she prepared herself mentally for what was to come. A few more men came in after him, but they remained in the shadows. Ram wheeled his way down the ramp, a gleeful smile on his face the intire time.

"Ebony," he said with clear mock dissapointment, "Why have you betrayed me?" He pouted at her, but his eyes shone with childlike delight.

"Come now, you can't be that surprised," Ebony said, playing along.

"Surprised no – dissapointed yes," Ram said matter of factly, "I was really hoping you would join us – embrace the wonderful technology we have so generously given you."

Ebony snorted.

"But now I see that you have taken my generosity and trambled all over it." He put on an exaggerated hurt expression, "That wasn't very nice, now was it?"

"Well not as bad as kidnapping people, wouldn't you say?" Ebony shot back. Ram seemed to overhear this little statement.

"So, now what are we going to do with you?" He sighed, wheeling back and forth before his prey, "It's a very serious crime – the punishment have to match!"

He stopped right in front of Ebony, an evil grin appearing on his face, "It's such a difficult decision – I think I'd better sleep on it."

Ebony felt her stomach drop. She couldn't stand being locked up down here, and Ram was going to take his time – just for fun. She shot daggers at him as he spun around and dissapeared out of the door.

A figure in the shadows stirred and Ebony strained her eyes to see who it was. She couldn't see his face in the dark, but could just make out the blond hair and knew instinctively who is was.

He didn't move, nor did he say a word. Ebony couldn't see his face, but she knew that his expression wasn't happy and that he was watching them. She knew her act had been exposed. Feeling uncomfortable, Ebony leaned against Slade's warm and strong body and felt how he instantly took her in his arms. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jay move. She turned her head and watched him walk away.


	33. Chapter 33

33

When Cloe had found out that Ebony, Slade and K.C had been caught and thrown into the cells, she had felt absolutely sick to her stomach. She had known about their risky plan and wanted to help, but both Ebony and K.C had insisted that her and Patsy was to be kept out of it as much as possible. In case things went wrong.

And now they had. Patsy was beside herself with worry and Cloe couldn't blame her. K.C was her loved one and his fate was now in very dangerous and unpredictable hands. Cloe had gotten to know Ram a bit on her stay with them and she knew he could easily kill off one of his own men, if he had a bad day and felt like it, and wouldn't think twice about it afterwards. He was a complete psychopath.

Her and Patsy had sat in her room all day trying to come up with a plan to help them. They agreed that they had to try and get down there to talk to them and then maybe they could come up with something.

Cloe had been trying to avoid Ved all morning. She couldn't stand lying to him, but it was vital that she continued her charade a little longer, until they found a way to beat the Technos. Or at least until they could free Ebony, K.C and Slade.

They went into the kitchens to gather some food, and then went down to the cellars, under the pretense of bringing food to the prisoners. Thank god most of the guards in this tribe were not very bright, so they let them in without any questions and closed the door behind them.

"K.C!" Patsy cried as soon as the doors closed and she ran the last couple of metres, the food on her tray wobbling dangerously. She put the food down on the ground with shaky hands and ran to the cells. K.C stretched his arms out through the bars and held her trembling body, "It's okay, Pats."

Cloe walked over to them as well, handing them the food through the bars.

"Are you all alright?" she asked, eyeing Slade's beat up face.

Ebony looked back at him as well, "More or less."

Then she turned back to Cloe, "But we won't be if Ram has his way. And he always does. We're in real trouble, Cloe."

Cloe sighed, "I know – he's totally mental." She looked at K.C and Patsy in their embrace and resolution filled her heart. She _had_ to do something. She couldn't just stand back and let Ram delete her friends. There was just no way that was happening. She knew it meant betraying Ved, and that he would _hate_ her, but there was no other way. Besides – it had been the plan all along, right? She'd been sent in as a spy and therefore had been betraying him this whole time. But now she had to betray him even more. And she felt sick to her stomach thinking about it. Tears whelled up in her eyes as she thought about how hurt he would be when he finally found out. She bit her lips to keep them from quivering and blinked her eyes to get rid of the blur. Then she turned to Ebony, "We'll get you out of here."

"But how?"

"Ved has a key card." Her insides twisted as she said it out loud, "It has access to every door in this building, including this cage."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. He told me once. I'm sure."

"Well can you get it?" Ebony was sounding both hopeful and sceptical at the same time.

"Yeah. He won't suspect anything." Cloe looked down at her feet, "He trusts me."

"Good," Ebony said, "Try and get it tonight, then come and get us."

"But what about the guards outside the door?" Patsy asked nervously.

"We'll take them out," Ebony said, looking at K.C who nodded. They were outnumbered and easily taken care of when taken by surprise. And then they just had to get out of the building fast enough without getting caught – again.

"We'll come back later tonight, I promise," Cloe said. Patsy reluctantly detatched herself from K.C's arms and kissed him through the bars.

As they turned around to leave, Ebony called out, "Hey."

Cloe turned back to look at her.

"This whole spy thing – you did good."

Cloe just nodded. She knew Ebony meant it as a compliment, but couldn't help but feel horrible about herself. She grabbed Patsy's hand for support and then they made their way out of the basement to begin their plan of saving their friends.

—

Cloe was in her room, trying to come up with a plan as how to get Ved's card without him knowing, when suddenly the door barged open and Ved stormed in. The enraged look on his face told Cloe that he had finally heard about what had happened.

"Tell me you had nothing to do with this!" He demanded as soon as the door had closed behind him. His furious glare cut through her like a knife.

"I had nothing to do with this," she said and tried to sound sincere, although the words tasted foul in her mouth.

"Do you really expect me to believe that?" Ved snapped and took a step closer. Cloe's heart was beating out of her chest and she tried to steady it, so shaky words wouldn't betray her.

"I was here all along, check the security cameras!" she said, feeling the panick rise. It wasn't a lie – she had been in here the whole time, not directly participating in the crime. But she had known about it.

"But you were in on it!" Ved pressed on, pointing an accusing finger at her.

"Stop yelling at me!" She needed to calm him down. She couldn't think when he was screaming at her. It hurt too much.

Ved let out an angry breath and seemed to relax a bit. He came to sit by her side on the bed and looked down at his hands in his lap, "Sorry."

Cloe reached over and took one of his hands. They were trembling slightly.

"I promise you, I had nothing to do with it," she said, looking at his face. She only managed to do so because he wasn't looking back at her. He just kept looking at their hands.

"I really want to believe you Clo," he then said quietly and sighed, "But it doesn't come easy to me." He finally met her eyes, "I mean, you're a virt. And a Mallrat. And I know they are your friends." His face fell dark as he then said, "K.C were mine too."

Bile rose in Cloe's mouth. Ved had finally become friends with K.C, and he and Cloe had just found each other. And they had both betrayed him.

"I know he was."

They sat in silence for a while, then Cloe asked, "Am I in trouble? I mean, does Ram think…"

"No," Ved said, shaking his head, "He has no idea that you are a Mallrat. I've deliberately kept that from him. To keep you safe. Just in case…" He trailed off.

_Oh_.

Then he turned his whole body towards Cloe and took hold of both of her hands, "Look me in the eye and tell me you had nothing to do with this," he said urgently, "Promise me."

Cloe's mouth went completely dry. She had to lie to him directly. She simply had no choice.

"I had nothing to do with it - I promise."

Ved gazed at her for at moment, debating. Then he sighed, "Okay. I believe you."

Cloe felt both immensely relieved and very heartbroken. There. Mission accomplished. Yay…

Ved leaned in for a kiss, "I trust you…"

_Don't_.

He kissed her again, this time more deeply.

"I love you," Cloe croaked, kissing him back. She needed him to kiss her, to make her forget the awful guilt and the worry for her friends. She deepened the kiss and wound her arms around his neck, clinging to him like he held her life.

Feeling her desperate need for him, Ved grabbed her hips and pulled her onto his lap. He loved her so much, it actually hurt. He had never loved a girl like this before, and frankly it scared him.

Surprise hit him as Cloe's shaky hands found the zipper on his shirt and started to slowly pull it down. His heart started to pound. Cloe's hands pushed the shirt out over his shoulders and down his arms and he helped her the last bit, shrugging out of it. This is it, he thought and he watched in awe as Cloe remove her own shirt. And he wanted her, needed her like he had never needed anyone before.

He leaned in and kissed her passionately and they both fell down onto the bed. Cloe let go of all thought, all the worry and pain in her life - and gave herself completely to him.

It was dark when Cloe woke up. She looked at the digital watch on her night stand and saw that it was just after midnight. She had just spend the most perfect night with Ved. It had been her first time and Ved had been very gentle and sweet and just perfect. She detacthed herself from his arms very slowly, careful not to wake him up. He just stirred and turned around in his sleep.

With pounding heart Cloe got out of bed and got dressed silently. She was scared that he would wake up and find her leaving. She would then have to lie to him again and it made her heart ache. She walked around the bed and found his pants on the floor. She dig through his pokets with shaking hands undtil she found his card. A single tear escaped the corner of her eye and rolled down her cheek. This was her biggest betrayal. When he found out, he was never going to forgive her.

She fled to the door, not looking back at him as she slid outside, fearing she would not be able to if she looked at his face. It closed shut behind her with a soft sound and she ran to Patsy's room as fast as she could. Together they ran down to the basement and found pillows and blankets, which they carried to the dungeons. They told the guards they were sent here to provide the prisoners with blankets and they let them in without questioning.

"Did you get it?" Ebony asked as soon as the girls were inside.

"I got it," Cloe said in a monotone voice.

"Excellent!" Ebony said and went back to Slade, "You ready to go?" He nodded and got up. Cloe ran the card through the device and it clicked open. Patsy ran into K.C's arms and hugged him tight.

"Alright," Slade said, "Time to split."

"I'm coming with you," Patsy said, looking up at K.C.

"Patsy, no – it's too risky," K.C said firmly, "What if we get caught? You'd be in trouble as well. I won't have that."

"I coming!" Patsy said just as firmly, daring him to argue, "I won't be without you."

"We'll all go," Ebony said, "Let's get the hell outta here."

"Okay, okay," K.C gave in, not really wanting to leave her in here after all. He looked Patsy in the eye, "But keep close to me."

"Always."

As they walked towards the door, Cloe faltered and then stopped, "I'm staying." The others looked back at her.

"Cloe, are you sure?" Ebony asked, taking a step towards her.

"I'm sure," Cloe said, "My work here isn't done." And she couldn't leave Ved. It was simply not possible.

Patsy went back to hug her friend, "Please be careful."

"I will. Now go!"

They opened the door with Ved's card and K.C and Slade took out the two surprised guards, dragging them inside the cells and locking them up. Then they fled up the stairs and down the hallway. Cloe ran back to her room and snug inside sounslessly. She put the card back into Ved's pants, stripped down and crawled into bed. Halfawake, Ved wound his arms around Cloe's body and pulled her closer, snuggling his face in her neck and sighed deeply. Cloe let out a long breath and tried to steady her heart. She hoped she could sleep like this forever – warm and safe in his arms.

Deep down, she knew that was just a naive dream.


	34. Chapter 34

34

Jay pinched the bridge of his nose. This was all turning into a real mess. No other city had ever made such resistent to their arrival than this one. The people would usually protest, but eventually they would give up and cooperate. But not this one. This one had a fierce cityleader who just wouldn't seem to give up. Jay had never met anyone to strongwilled as Ebony. But she was putting herself and everyone is great danger. Ram's patience was wearing thin and his stungunned hand was itching.

Sighing deeply he looked at the two idiots lying on the floor in the cellars. Of course Ebony and the others had escaped… And of course these two morons had failed to do their job. How they had escaped was a mystery to Jay. The bars and it's lock seemed to be intact. The only way they could have escaped was with help from the inside. But he would soon find out. All it took was a quick search in the computer data and he would see who's card had been used. And they would be punished.

The two guards stirred and slowly woke up. Jay kneeled down beside them to check if they were okay. Once he had made sure they were not hurt, he demanded, "What happened?"

They both scrambled to their feet and stammered their pathetic excuses.

"Both of you keep your mouth shut about this," Jay ordered. Best to investigate a bit further before letting Ram know. He would sent out men to get the prisoners back before Ram got the news of this. That way, his wrath would be smaller and less people were bound to get hurt.

It was still night time and the two guards had told Jay it was just past midnight when they had been attacked, so they couldn't have gotten very far.

Jay called a few of his men through his headset and ordered them to go search for the prisoners, no word to Ram until they had captured them. Then he made his way upstairs and into the computer room where he began his search for the inside traitor.

—

Later in the morning, Ved was sitting in one of the computer rooms, working. He had woken up euphoric, with Cloe still sleeping in his arms. He'd never imagined being this happy, couldn't describe the feeling Cloe sleeping in his arms gave him. And then the night they had spent together… It had been a beautiful experience, and it felt so right.

He believed her when she said she'd had nothing to do with Ebony's and K.C's break-in to Ram's computer. They must have done it on their own then.

There was a cracking sound in his headset and he touched it with his hand, "Yes?"

"Ved," his brother's voice came through and Ved rolled his eyes, "I need to speak with you. Now."

"I'm working," Ved said, not wanting Jay to ruin his perfect morning with his nagging.

"I wasn't asking!" came Jay's angry voice, "Get in here – NOW!"

"Alright, relax would you? Geeze," Ved said and cut the connection. He'd better get down there, or Jay would come yelling at him. Reluctantly he turned off the computer and made his way down to Jay's room, where he walked inside and threw himself down on Jay's bed, "I'm here. What's up your a-"

"Shut up!" Jay yelled and strode over to the bed. He looked down at Ved angrily.

"Hey!" Ved objected to his rudeness. _Gesus! _What was up with him? He was being more cross than usual.

"This is serious Ved," Jay snarled, "You're in big trouble!"

"What did _I_ do?" Ved asked perplexed. He hadn't done anything that would piss off Jay lately – not that he could think off.

"The prisoners have escaped," Jay informed him.

Ved sat up, "What? How?"

"Someone set them free. Using _your_ card."

_What the hell!_ Ved sprang to his feet and put his hands into his pockets. He pulled up his card and looked at it, "I don't understand…"

Jay just glared at him, arms crossed. Ved looked up at him and then his eyes went wide, "Did you think that _I_-"

"No," Jay said curtly, "But I know who did. I saw her… on the hidden security cameras…"

Jay didn't even have to say her name. Ved knew who he meant. He couldn't say anything. His whole world was crumbling.

"No," he croaked out, not wanting to believe it. Jay let out an angry sigh and pressed a button on his computer. It sprang to life and showed a video of Cloe and Patsy freeing Ebony and the others in the dungeons, using a card. His card.

Ved stared at it with his mouth open. He couldn't believe it. She had tricked him. Used him. Lied to him. Anger and hurt burned in his chest at her betrayel. But then, another stronger feeling took over.

Fear.

He whipped his head up to look at Jay, "Does Ram know?"

"No, I haven't told anyone yet. I needed to talk to you first. To make sure you had nothing to do with it. Did you? I know you two are together…"

"No! I never noticed my card went missing…" He trailed off as it hit him, "It must have been last night. When we were sleeping. Or when _I_ was sleeping. She must have taken my card and sneaked out…" He held a hand to his forehead.

Jay seemed to soften a bit, seeing his little brothers pain. He put a hand on Ved's shoulder, "Look, I know you're hurt…"

Automatically, Ved shrugged it off and snorted. He wouldn't let Jay see his pain. That was just too much.

"I am too," Jay said, looking at little hurt by the rejection, "That Ebony really had me fooled…"

Ved looked at him. He hadn't realised something was going on with those two, "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Jay looked down at his feet, "I thought she… but then I found out she was only using me."

Ved could relate. It felt strange. The two of them had always been so different. It was weird that they finally had something in common. Of course it would be somthing negative.

"Please don't tell Ram!" Ved then said ugently.

"Ved…I _have_ to. You know that."

"Please Jay!" Ved begged, now not caring if Jay saw his desperation, "I love her!"

Jay was surprised – pleasantly so, despite the circumstances. He'd known that his brother and Cloe had something going on, but to hear that Ved actually loved her – that was new. He had hoped Ved would find a girl that he could actually love, someone who could handle him. He was just sad that the girl ended up hurting him.

"Okay, I won't tell him. But we will have to come up with something to tell him – and fast!"

—

Cloe was lying on her bed, waiting anxiously for news. She prayed that Patsy and the others had gotten away. If they had got caught again, surely she would have heard, right?

Suddenly, the door flew open and Ved barged in. The fierce desperation in his eyes made the hairs on Cloe's neck stand up. She had never seen him like this before. He looked absolutely crazy.

"What the _hell_ were you thinking!" he roared as soon as he had stormed into the room. Cloe knew he'd finally connected the dots and she braced herself for his fury.

"I know it was you, so don't you fucking dare lie to me! Not again!"

Cloe slowly sat up and took a deep breath to steady herself. She had known this would come. She knew Ved would eventually find out. And she knew it would hurt like hell.

Ved ran his hands through his hair and then linked his fingers behind his head as he began pacing back and forth.

"Listen-" Cloe began, but was interrupted.

"What you did was incredibly stupid!" Ved yelled and swung around to look at her wildly, "If he finds out, you have no idea what he is going to do to you!" He swung out his arm towards to door, meaning Ram.

Then he squinted at her, "This was your plan all along, wasn't it?" He looked both mad and hurt, "You've been lying to me all along…"

Cloe's chest ached with pain. Not for her own, but for Ved's.

"Ved, I-" She trailed off, not knowing what to say. He was right of course. It was true what he was saying. It _had_ been her plan all along, and she _had_ been lying to him. Every step of the way.

"You've just been pretending…"

Cloe's heart stopped. _What?_

"This whole time…you and me…It was all part of your plan…I…"

With crushing dread it downed on Cloe that he thought she didn't love him. That that had been a lie too.

"Last night…You _used_ me!" He sounded so hurt and so broken, that Cloe's heart shattered into a million pieces.

Then he turned around, grabbed the lamp on the nightstand og threw it against the wall, "Fuck!"

Cloe jumped as the lamp hit the wall and fell to the ground with a _clank_.

"Ved – I'm sorry!" she sobbed, tears spilling over and pouring down her cheeks. It absolutely killed her to see him hurt like this, "I'm sorry I lied to you!"

"So last night…It meant nothing to you!" He wouldn't look at her, just stood there and grabbed a fistful of his hair.

"It meant _everything_ to me!" Cloe cried and felt a desperation so deep she thought it would drown her, "I know I betrayed you, but I love you! I swear!"

Ved's head snapped up, then he spun around to glare at her. He strode over to her and grabbed her upper arms and screamed in her face, "Stop _LYING_ to me!"

"I'm not!" How was she ever going to make him believe that the one thing she had not been lying about was her feelings for him?

"I can't ever trust you again!" His eyes were glossy.

"Please Ved – don't say that…"

"I can't believe you…" He turned his head away, like he couldn't stand to look at her and Cloe felt her whole body turn cold.

"Ved, I swear my feelings for you are real!" Cloe cried, "It wasn't part of the plan to fall for you, but I did."

"Never mind all that!" Ved spat, dismissing her with a wave of the hand that stung Cloe's heart.

"I don't know how Ram's going to reacts to this," he then said and finally looked at her again, "He could do anything - the guy's screwed up in his head!"

"I know," Cloe said, "but I'm not scared of him. I'm not scared of what's gonna happen to me - the most important thing is that KC and Patsy and Ebony are safe."

Ved strode over to her with three long steps and grapped her upper arms again, "That is _not_ what's most important! What's most important is what happens to _you_!" And then Cloe knew that even though she had betrayed him, lied to him, hurt him – he still loved her.

Ved let go of her and turned around while running a hand through his hair, mumbling frantically, "This is completely out of my hands..."

Then he stood for a while, just thinking in silence. Cloe just let him think, let him turn things over in his head. She watched his chest heave in and out with every angry breath, until it slowly slowed down and he became more calm. He stood in the middle of the room, his head hanging when he asked, "Why did you do it?"

"I _had_ to do it Ved. They're my friends. My _family_. I couldn't just sit back and watch them die," Cloe said, trying somehow to explain, "Wouldn't you do the same thing if it was Jay?" She looked down at her hands, and then, a bit unsure, up at him through her lashes, "Or me?"

Ved leaned his head back, then sighed and simply said, "Yes."

"Then you know why I did it. Even though it meant betraying you…"

Once again Ved stood thinking for a while, then he turned his head to look at her, "You've put us both in danger, you know that right? Ram will know it was my card."

"Just tell him I tricked you. It's the truth after all."

"I'm not sure he cares. He just looking for someone to punish."

_Oh_. Cloe hadn't thought of that. The thought of Ram hurting Ved sent ice through her veins. Ved couldn't be hurt. She wouldn't let that happen.

"We have to run!" she suddenly burst out. She got off of the bed and went to stand right in front of him, looking him in the eye. He took a small step away from Cloe which didn't go unnoticed by her.

"Come with me," she begged.

"No."

"You _have_ to! If he hurts you…"

"Then that's how it'll be."

"_Please_ Ved!"

"Why would I go with you?" He looked down at her with hard eyes.

"Because I love you. And you love me."

Ved snorted and looked away. Now Cloe's patience was wearing a little thin. Why was he so goddamn stubborn?

"Now you listen to me Ved!" she said firmly, grabbing his arms and staring him in the eyes, "I LOVE you. I know you don't think so, but I do! Why else would I still be here? I could have run with the others. But I chose to stay."

"Why?"

"Goddammit Ved! Because of _you_!"

He seemed to muse about this for a while, but then he said, "Doesn't matter. I can't come with you."

Cloe's heart fell, "Why not?"

"Because this is where I belong. This is my home."

"But you could get a new home – a new life – with me."

Ved twisted out of her grip and turned away, "No."

_Ouch_. Tears pressed behind Cloe's eyes and she tried to blink them away. She understood why he was distant and angry, but it still hurt like hell to be rejected like this.

"Come with us. Help us take down Ram. Ebony's been working on Jay. To get him on our side."

Ved spun around and snapped, "Like you've been working me?"

"I never planned for you to join us," Cloe admitted, trying with the truth, "But I'm hoping you will now. Join us. Be the man I think you are."

Then Ved exploded, "Who the fuck do you want me to be! This is me, Cloe! If I'm not here, I'm no one!"

"Yes you are – you would be someone good. Someone who doesn't kidnap people and rip families apart."

"No, I would be someone I'm not!"

"People can change."

"No they can't! Don't you get it? This will always be me!"

"I don't believe that. You always have a choise. To change. To be the best version of yourself."

"Enough!" He yelled and swung his hand out to draw a line, "Stop! Just stop!"

Cloe closed her mouth and obeyed. She'd pushed him too far. She could only hope he would change his mind and flee with her. In his own time.

"I need to go," he said abruptly and then he crossed the room and dissapeared out of the door, leaving Cloe heartbroken and scared.


	35. Chapter 35

35

Unfortunately Jay's men hadn't been able to catch Ebony and the others yet. Word had, of course, reached Ram's ear about their escape and who was responsible. And he was beyond enraged.

"I thought you said she was trustworthy!" Ram bellowed. His face was bright red and there was a vein pulsating in his temple. Ved was standing in front of him, stifly.

"I really believed she was," he said urgently.

"You said you had programmed her!" Ram yelled, little droplets of saliva sprinkling from his mouth.

"I have."

"Then why has she betrayed us Ved?!" His eyes were almost bulging out as he glared at Ved.

"I don't know," Ved said helplessly, "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry?" Ram snapped, wheeling his chair closer to Ved, "Sorry doesn't do it, Ved! Sorry doesn't make it okay, does it?!"

"No..."

Ram was breathing heavily from all the screaming. He stared at Ved with crazy eyes, then he snorted with comtempt, "You made this mess, Ved - you pay for the consequences."

He turned his chair around and put some distance between them. Then he said calmly, his back on Ved, "She knows too much. She's become a liability. There's only one thing to do..." Ram slowly spun around and looked directly at Ved, "You have to delete her."

Ved froze with shock. His tongue went numb with terror and the words got stuck in his throat. He only managed to choke out a strangled, "No..."

"YES!" Ram yelled wildly, flying into a temper at once, "You _will_ delete her!"

"I can't..."

"I'm not asking you! I'm ORDERING you!"

"I-"

"If you don't do it, Ved," Ram said, wheeling his chair closer to Ved once again, "You'll have to pay me otherwise - with your life! Someone has to pay for this! I might even throw in Jay's life as an extra charge, if you don't do it!"

"Ram-"

"JUST DO IT! NOW!"

—

Jay was sitting in his desk chair thinking things over. He'd sent men out to retrieve Ebony and the others that had escaped, but so far he hadn't heard anything back from them. All morning he had prayed that they would soon be back with them, but had started to doubt that they would manage to keep Ram in the dark much further. He always seemed to know things, even when it was impossible. Jay suspected hidden bugs and cameras, so he was always careful of what he said and did. And his worst fears seemed to have come true. As soon as Ram had found out that it was Ved's card that had freed his precious prisoners he had called Ved into his room to an unknown fate. Now his own little brother was in grave danger, and he was scared to death of what would happen to him.

The door suddenly opened and Ved walked in, in a zombie like state. His eyes were big and empty and he swayed a little as he stumbled in. He turned around and closed the door behind him, using both hands and then leaning his forehead against it.

"Ved…" Jay said, alarmed, "Are you alright? What happened in there?"

Ved turned around and began pacing back and forth, quietly chanting, "This isn't happening, this isn't happening." His hands kept darting up to his hair, grabbing a handful of it and tugging.

"Ved, calm down," Jay said. He was severely concerned about his brother. He had never seen him like this before. So worked up, so anxious, so - _scared_. His eyes followed Ved as he kept pacing, until he couldn't take it anymore and grabbed hold of his arm, "Ved stop."

Ved twisted his arm free and turned to look at his older brother. It was a desperate, exasperated look.

"Don't you understand?!" He yelled, staring him in the eye angrily, and Jay was shocked by his sudden outburst.

"He wants me to _kill_ her, Jay!"

Jay stood dumbfounded for a few seconds, mouth open, eyes blinking. Ved started pacing again as Jay managed a breathless, "_What?_"

"He wants to punish me for bringing her here, for letting a virt into the inner circle. This is the _evilest_ thing he could think of. The most hurtful to me."

Suddenly, Jay's brains started working and flew into full on big brother-protector-mode, "Let me talk to him. I'll sort this out."

"You can't," Ved breathed, "You know Ram, once he has his mind set…"

"There _has_ to be a way," Jay said urgently, "Surely I can-"

Ved spun around to glare at him, "Don't you get it?! We can't do _anything_! He's threathened to kill you if I don't do it. And me." His face crumpled as he sopped, "He's leaving me no choice! I have to do it! I _have_ to!"

Ved wheeled around and stormed out of the room before Jay had a chance to react. He was too shocked. And then he felt a surge of rage in his stomach. How dare he… How _dare_ he put Ved into such excruciating situation, force him to make such an impossible choice! Jay didn't care about his own life, but he cared about Ved's. And Cloe's. This was unacceptable – even for Ram. Their leader had done a lot of screwed up things over time, but this time he'd gone too far. Way too far.

And Jay was going to stop him.

—

Ved slowly walked down the long and dark hallway that matched the path he had been forced to take. As he neared room 48 his head felt dizzy and empty, like all thoughts had been drained from his mind. He put his hand on the handle and pushed the door open.

Cloe looked up when she heard the door open and smiled when she saw Ved walk in. However, her smile turned into a frown when she saw the expression on his face.

"What happened to you?" she asked, closing the magazine she was reading and sat up. "You look like a zombie."

Ved didn't answer this and Cloe found that very weird. Ved always had some cheeky reply. Maybe he was still mad after their fight ealier. She watched as he walked over to his drawer and started rummaging in it.

"Hallo! Earth to Ved," Cloe said, getting annoyed at the lack of response from him, "What's up with you?"

Ved still didn't say anything; he didn't even turn around to look at her. He kept rummaging in the drawer and Cloe got the feeling that maybe he was trying to stall time or not really wanting to find what he was looking for.

"Ved talk to me," Cloe said and got off the bed. She walked over to him and touched his arm; she just needed some kind of reaction from him. The minute she touched him he flinched and fled to the other end of the room. He couldn't let her see the pain in his eyes. Cloe looked at his back with a frown.

"Sit," she heard him say quietly. His voice was so strangely small and shaky.

"What's going on?" she asked. Now she was really getting scared.

"Sit. _Down_," Ved said with a stone face. Cloe did as she was told. Ved gulped as he slowly turned around to face her but he couldn't look her in the eye. He felt insanely sick and felt like he had to throw up. Cloe got seriously scared when she saw his expression. He looked pale and sick in an unnatural way; she had never seen anyone look like that before. Ved raised his hand which now had a zapper on it and pointed it at Cloe.

"What are you doing?" Cloe exclaimed, shocked. Ved turned the zapper on and put it on level ten - death level.

"Ved, you're scaring me!" Cloe cried with a shaky voice. She couldn't understand what was happening, and why Ved had changed, all of a sudden, into this cold, non-responsive creature. Tears ran down her cheeks and she looked at him with big brown frightend eyes.

Ved couldn't hold it together any longer; he had to look her in the eyes. Just one final time before...

The second their eyes met Ved felt like a bolt of lightning ran through his body. He couldn't take it; his whole body was shaking as he slowly dropped to his knees, where he broke down and put his hands over his face. Freaked out, Cloe got off the bed and walked over to him, hesitant. She kneeled down next to him and put a hand on his back. She could feel his whole body shake. She didn't know what to say to him because she didn't know what was going on.

"It's okay," she said, in lack of ideas what else to say.

Ved shook his head, "No, it's not okay," he said hoarsely, "I have to delete you."

Cloe got up and backed away until she hit the bed with the back of her knees, then she slumped down on it.

"You're lying," she said numbly, not able to believe him. Ved looked up at her with a hopeless face and shook his head solemnly.

"I was ordered to delete you."

Cloe swallowed hard, "Why?"

"Because you helped them escape. Ram knows… He wants to get rid of you." His voice broke as he said those last few words and he started sobbing, "But I can't do it…I just can't."

Cloe felt relief wash over her. She just couldn't imagine Ved ever hurting her, but the look on his face – that had really scared her. And she had started to doubt it – just a little bit.

She walked back over to him, kneeled down and put her arms around is shaking body. She didn't say anything, knew there was nothing she could say that would make things okay. So she just held him, undtil he stopped shaking and he dried his tearful face with his palm. He took a deep quivering breath and then looked at Cloe.

"You have to get away."

Cloe felt her insides twist. She couldn't bare the thought of leaving Ved, of not having him near.

"But what about you?" she asked and got up. Ved walked around in the room, gathering some of Cloe's things.

"I'll be okay."

"They'll kill you when they find out," Cloe said as she watched him walking around.

"I'll make up a story," he mumbled.

"But-"

"Help me pack your things. You have to go - now. The guards will be here soon, checking on us. I'll destranct them - Hurry!" He said urgently.

Cloe snapped out of it and began collecting her things. Her hands were shaking as she stuffed them into a bag. Ved was standing by the window and was opening the locks on it with a key. They could suddenly hear technos nearing the room. Cloe's heart was in her mouth.

"You have to climb out of the window!" Ved said when Cloe turned up by his side with her few things packed. Her heart ached and all of her insides twisted. She looked at him - this guy who had taken her against her will and held her captive. Whom she had fallen in love with.

"I don't want to leave you," she cried out. Ved turned his head and looked down at her.

"I don't want you to leave," he said softly. He took both of her hands in his, "But we have no choice. You _have_ to go."

They could clearly hear voices on the hallway now.

"Now!" Ved said urgently. Cloe nodded as a tear ran down her cheek. She grabbed his face with her hands and pulled him into a kiss. Ved took her in his arms and kissed her back, passionately, quickly. Then he pulled away.

"You must go! Now!" he hurried her on. Cloe nodded and quickly climbed out of the window. Once she was outside she turned around and looked at Ved, worried.

"Don't worry about me," he said as though he had read her thoughts, "I'll be fine, I promise, just go! Go!"

Cloe turned around and took off. She bolted over the grassy area without looking back and finally let the tears run free.

Ved spun around when his door opened and two technos barged in. One of them was Ecko. Ved thought fast and grabbed his head while groaning as though he was in terrible pain.

"Where's the Virt?" The other techno asked.

"She escaped!" Ved lied, gesturing towards the open window.

"What happened?" Ecko asked, walking further into the room to investigate.

"She knocked me on the head with a lamp and escaped out of the window," Ved said and pointed at the broken pieces of the lamp that he had thrown into the wall earlier. Echo looked at the pieces on the floor and then back at Ved. His face showed nothing and Ved wasn't sure if he knew that he was lying.

"Go after her," Ecko ordered the other techno, "Take Mega and Chip with you. And hurry!"

The techno nodded and ran out of the door. Once his footsteps had died out Ecko turned back to Ved and eyed him suspiciously. Ved returned his gaze, knowing that he had to keep a straight face.

"Ved," Ecko said quietly, "You are telling me the truth, right?" He asked this without moving his eyes from Ved's.

"Of course."

"Because if you aren't, that would have some serious consequences," Ecko said solumnly.

"I'm telling the truth," Ved insisted. He prayed to the gods that his voice wouldn't shake and call his bluff. Ecko didn't say anything for a little while, then heaved a deep sigh.

"Very well." He turned around and walked over to the door. Before he walked out he turned back to look at him.

"Ved?"

Ved looked at him.

"The pain seems to be gone," Ecko then said. Ved's heart stopped for a second. But Ecko just turned back around and walked out, closing the door behind him. Ved let out the breath that he had been holding in and sunk down onto his bed.


	36. Chapter 36

36

Ved was sitting in his room. After Cloe's escape Ram had decided that he was to be held responsible for everything, not really caring if it was the truth or not. He had been locked up in his room until further notice and he was going crazy not knowing if Cloe had succeeded in fleeing or had been caught.

Jay wasn't allowed to talk to him, nor was Tyler. They had removed his headset and his computer, so he was left all to himself with only his panicked thoughts as company.

He spend most of the days just pacing back and forth in his room, not able to concentrate on doing anything else. It had been four days now. Four excruciatingly long days and he was now on the brink of insanity.

At noon the door opened as usual and a techno guard put down at tray of food and then closed the door again without a word. Ved sighed. He'd lost his appetite these past couple of days, not seeing the point of eating if he was going to be deleted anyway. Nevertheless he walked over to pick up the tray and put it on his night stand. He was a bit thirsty from all the pacing, so he picked up the bottle of water and screwed off the cap. Something caught his eyes and he turned it in his hand and found a piece of paper folded neatly inside it. With shaky hands he put the bottle down and unfolded the small paper.

_He has Cloe. The others too. _

_Get ready. I'm coming for you. _

_Jay_

Ved stared paralyzed at the small piece of paper in his hand as panic took over his whole body.

He had her. Ram had Cloe.

Although his body was frozen, his mind wasn't and it was a raging inferno of desperate thoughts that wheeled around in there, making him dizzy.

Was she still alive? Was she hurt? What was Ram going to do to her? Would he hurt her, just to spite Ved, to make him pay, like the sick son af a B that he was?

Through all the hazy panic Ved felt something shift inside of him. The admiration and respect he had felt towards Ram had long vanished, but the loyalty towards the tribe had still been there. Now it was slowly, but steadily changing.

All he had ever cared about was himself. He never really had much concern for other's lives, especially not virts. But Cloe had changed something in him. He'd realised that there was more to life that just yourself. There was no better feeling in the world than to love someone and be loved back. He knew Cloe loved him. He had known that all along. When he had found out about her betrayel, his heart had broken into a million pieces. He had never felt an emotion that hurt so much, and he had tried to block it out just to survive. He had blocked out every emotion except rage. He knew rage. It felt familiar and welcome and it outshouted all other emotions.

But there was one feeling that was far more worse than the hurt he'd felt at her betrayal; The agonizing feeling of utter panic for your loved one.

He read the words over and over until his brain finally woke up from it paralyzed state and started to comprehend it. Then he crumbled the paper into a small ball and flushed it down the toilet, so no one could come and find it.

Jay was coming for him. And together they would find a way to save them all. He just prayed it wasn't already too late.

—

Jay was sitting on his bed, staring at the stungun in his hand. He had never imagined it would come down to this. He had never thought that Ved's life would be in danger. When they had joined Ram and his tribe, he wouldn't ever have guessed that he would be going against Ram. That he would be fighting his own men - men he had recruited and trained himself. It felt bothwrong and right at the same time, it was a very complex feeling.

He had always loved the idea of bringing comfort back to the world, give people all the necessities of life, like electricity and running water and hospitals and schools. But some things were far more important than that. Family and moral and righteousness.

With a look of determination on his face, Jay put the stungun onto his wrist, then added one to the other as well and got up. They weren't turned up fully to death level, but you wouldn't wake up right away if shot by one. And that was good enough for now. He could always turn it up a notch if necessary…

He ran down the corridor until he reached Ved's room. There were two of his men standing guard outside it. He had to act fast if he was ever going to have a shot at getting to Ved, so he just lifted both of his hands and sent two red lasers in their direction. They fell to the floor immediately and went still.

Jay jumped over them and stopped in front of Ved's door. He ran his card through the device and it clicked open. Inside, Ved was already at his feet waiting. Seeing his younger brother looking to lost and desperate made Jay rush inside and pulled him into a hug. For once Ved didn't push him off with a rude remark. He just hugged him back and heaved in a few quivering breaths.

Jay put his hands on Ved's shoulders as he pulled away and looked at him, "You okay, bro?"

Ved nodded, "Yeah."

"Good, we have to move. Quickly."

Ved looked at Jay, "Cloe…" he choked out, "…Is she still alive?" He sounded so scared for her that it hurt Jay's chest like daggers were thrown at it.

"She's alive," Jay said quickly, to let Ved out of his misery, "But maybe not for much longer. We have to move fast."

He looked Ved right in the eye, "Are you ready?"

Ved nodded and held his hand out low for Jay to slap, "Let's take this motherfucker down."

The two of them sprinted through the building together. Jay had given Ved one of the stun guns so he could defend himself. They stunned a few guards as they made their way towards Ram's room where they knew he would be resting, like he usually did this time a day.

Ved was so enraged that when they reached Ram's door he didn't wait for Jay to pull out his card to open it, he simply sprinted the last couple of feet and kicked the door open. It sprang open with a crash and the two of them ran inside.

Then they stopped short.

Inside the room was a whole bunch of people. Ten techno guards were pointing their stunguns at someone in the middle of the room, and Ved realised, with dread, that it was Cloe and the others.

"Cloe!" Ved shouted, feeling utterly relieved that she seemed unharmed.

She looked at him with sad eyes and cried, "Ved, I'm sorry!"

"What's the meaning of this!" Ram yelled, looking at Ved with rage and then glared at Jay, "Why is he out of his room?!"

"Because I let him out," Jay said calmly, returning Ram's dark gaze.

Ram let out an exasperated sigh, "Has eveyone gone mad?! Why are you all betraying me?! What have I done to deserve this?!"

Both Jay and Ved opened their mouths to give him multiple reasons for this, but Ram quickly drowned them out by yelling, "Shut your mouths!" His hair was beginning to stick out here and there from the strain, "Or I will shut it for you!"

The two brothers went silent, deciding that it was a waste of time anyway. He didn't listen to them anyway – he never did.

"This has to end now!" Ram went on, "I will not tolerent traitors! I don't care who they are, virts or no virts – they must be punished!"

He wheeled closer to his prey, "Ebony, I tried to help you, I've done my outmost to help this city back to glory, but you decided not to embrace it, my generousity - you decided to cast it away!"

"Yeah well, I wasn't really agreeing with your methods," Ebony said dryly. She seemed totally unfazed by the fact that ten stunguns were pointing at her.

"And you three…" He said to K.C, Cloe and Patsy, ignoring Ebony, "My own men… deserters… traitors…" He shook his head disapprovingly, "I can't seem to decide who has betrayed me the most, who to punish."

Turning his wheelchair around he looked at Jay, "What do you think, General Jay? Hmm? The crimes must be punished, so who's it gonna be?"

Jay just glared at him mutely, shaking his head incrediously at his nerve.

"Is going to be Ebony?" Ram goated him, like he was aware of Jay's feelings towards her, "You perhaps? You are my most-betrusted General afterall." He wheeled closer to them, looking happy as a peach despite his words.

"…Maybe I'll let your annoying baby brother take the punishment."

"No," Jay immediately said, sweat breaking out on his forehead at the thought of Ram hurting either Ebony or Ved. Or any of the others for that matter.

"No?" Ram said, no doubt loving his own little game, then turned to Ved, "Ved? What do you think?"

He wheeled back towards the prisoners, "Should I shoot this K.C? It wouldn't be the first time." He grinned evilly at Ved's angry face. Then he wheeled on down the line and stopped at Cloe. Ved automatically took a step closer, his fists balling.

"Maybe I'll shoot this little one. Cloe, was it?" He looked back at Ved gleefully and looked very smug.

"Stop it," Ved growled, his jaw clenched with fury.

"Maybe I'll just turn the level up a notch." He pushed the lever on his stungun with his thumb and beamed back at Ved, clearly very satisfied with Ved's reaction, "Do you think 10 i enough?"

Ved charged forward, and ten stunguns turned his direction at once. Jay quickly grabbed Ved's arm, holding him back, "Ved stop!"

Ved jerked his arm free, but stopped walking. He was breathing so hard.

"It doesn't really matter," Ram then said casually, "I'll just kill all four of them." He raised his arm and pointed the stun gun at Cloe, Patsy, K.C and Ebony.

"No!" Both Ved and Jay yelled at the same time. Red lasers flew though the air. There was a highpitched shriek as someone got hit and fell to the ground – dead instantly.


	37. Chapter 37

37 - The Ending

Ten stunned Techno guards stood looking at their leader. He was hanging over his chair, eyes wide open, lips parted from the last cry of death. Now he was completely still.

Little by little the guards seemed to wake up from their shocked state and they looked from Jay to Ved and then back to Ram. It was obvious that they felt conflicted. When Jay and Ved had shot Ram at the exact same time, none of them had taken action. Ram was their leader; he was feared, and they had all obeyed him out of fright of being deleted. And now he was dead. Jay was their general, and contrary to Ram, he was someone they respected and admired. But he had just wasted their leader.

For a few dreadful minutes, Jay was sure they would decide that he was a traitor and shoot him and Ved, along with the four Mallrats. But then all ten guards turned towards him, bowed their heads and kneeled down, pledging their loyalty to him.

Ved immidiately ran to Cloe and they flew into each others arms, holding on to one another tightly. Ved had no words to describe how relieved he was that she was safe and unharmed. When Ram had pointed his stun gun at her, Ved had lost his mind completely. He would do anything to stop Ram and he had. Both he and Jay had thought the exact same thing at the exact same time and fired their guns. Joined in the bond of brotherhood, they had taken him down. And he would never harm anyone ever again.

"You okay?" Ved breathed and cupped Cloe's face.

"I'm fine," she said queitly, tears glistering in her eyes. She peeked around him at Ram and then shuddered. Then she looked up at Ved with concern, "Are you?" He had after all just killed a man, and that was not something you did without feeling some kind of regret.

He glanced back at Ram as well and his face fell, "Yes. I had no choice." Then he turned back to look at down Cloe, "He was going to kill you. I couldn't let him." His voice broke at the last word and he burried his face in Cloe's neck. She wound her arms around him and held his shaking body for a while, "Shh, it's okay."

When he finally pulled away his eyes were red, "I love you Cloe. So much."

"I love you too," Cloe whispered, reaching up and kissing him on the lips, "Always."

They had done it. They had finally beaten the Ram. His reign of terror was finally over and a new era was starting, lead by Jay. The rest of the Technos seemed to accept this new turn of events. No one seemed to mourn the death of Ram, or they were too scared to admit it. Most of them thought that they had all been liberated from a tyran and a new leader had risen. One that was righteous and strong, and that they respected rather than feared. The rest of them left in the dead of night never to be seen again.

Jay arranged for the return of the lost mallrats as well as every other citizen that had been shipped away. Most of them returned safely, some hadn't made it and was forever gone. It pained Jay's heart that he had been a part of something that hurt people and regretted having walked around with blinkers on, ignoring what he deep down knew was going on. He had been sleepwalking for a long time, had lost his vision and simply followed orders. He did his outmost to make up for it any way he could and eventually learned to live with the regret by turning it into something constructive and meaningful.

Instead of forcing people to work, they were now offered to work and get food in exchange. Ebony and Jay worked together and Jay's dreams about hospitals and schools were soon realized. More and more people volenteered, seing their vision of a stronger and healthier community. They retrieved books from the libraries and set up study groups for people wanting to learn medical care, become school teachers or engineers.

Jay realised that Ebony had been right all along. Although he did not approve of her methods, he saw now that all she wanted was for him to come over to their side and take down Ram, so they could build up a new world together - Mallrats and Technos joining forces.

It was not a matter of picking sides or staying true to your tribe. It was a matter of the heart. To learn to listen to it. It was about pledging loyalty to yourself. It was all an art of loyalty – an art they had fully mastered.

The End

Afterwords:

With all my heart, I thank you – the ones who has stuck with me the whole way through to the end. Thank you for the reviews. Thank you for sharing my love for this wonderful tv show, that has meant so much to many many people around the world, and still do all these years later.

Thank you and Keep the Dream Alive!


End file.
